Gesture access system for a motor vehicle

Abstract

A gesture access system includes at least one ultra wide band transceiver to be mounted to a motor vehicle, and a processor to operate in either of (i) a gesture access mode to control an actuator associated with an access closure of the motor vehicle to lock, unlock, open or close the access closure in response to an object within a sensing region of the at least one UWB transceiver exhibiting a predefined gesture, and (ii) an inactive mode in which the at least one processor does not receive or does not act on UWB radiation detection signals, the at least one processor to operate in the gesture access mode in response to known mobile communication device being within a perimeter defined about the motor vehicle, and to otherwise operate in the inactive mode.

Description

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to motor vehicle-mounted wireless access systems and, more particularly, to such systems in which transmitted and reflected wireless signals are used to detect the presence of an in-range mobile device and to then detect a predefined gesture for unlocking and/or opening at least one vehicle closure.

BACKGROUND

Many vehicles today are equipped with a passive entry system, or “PES.” In some PES implementations, a key fob communicates with a computer of the motor vehicle, and the motor vehicle computer operates to automatically unlock one or more door locks of the motor vehicle in response to detection of the key fob being in close proximity to the motor vehicle. This allows an operator of the vehicle to approach the vehicle and open the door without having to manually unlock the door with a key or to manually press a button on the key fob. In some such applications, the motor vehicle computer is also configured to automatically lock the vehicle in response to detection of the key fob being outside of the close proximity of the motor vehicle.

Another known type of hands-free vehicle access or entry system employs an infrared (“IR”) detector assembly. Typically, such systems may use an active near infrared arrangement including multiple IR LEDs and one or more sensors in communication with a computer or other circuitry. The computer is typically operable in such an assembly to calculate the distance of an object from the assembly by timing the interval between emission of IR radiation and reception by the sensor(s) of at least a portion of the emitted IR radiation that is reflected by the object back to the sensor(s), and then interpreting the timing information to determine movement of the object within the IR field. Exemplary IR movement recognition systems are disclosed in US Patent Application Publication 20120200486, US Patent Application Publication 20150069249, and US Patent Application Publication 20120312956, and US Patent Application Publication 20150248796, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

SUMMARY

This disclosure comprises one or more of the features recited in the attached claims, and/or one or more of the following features and any combination thereof. In one aspect, a gesture access system for a motor vehicle may comprise at least one ultra wide band (UWB) transceiver configured to be mounted to the motor vehicle, the at least one UWB transceiver responsive to activation signals to emit UWB radiation signals outwardly away from the motor vehicle, and to produce UWB radiation detection signals, the UWB radiation detection signals including at least one reflected UWB radiation signal if at least one of the emitted UWB radiation signals is reflected by an object toward and detected by the at least one UWB transceiver, at least one processor, and at least one memory having instructions stored therein executable by the at least one processor to cause the at least one processor to: monitor a mobile device status signal produced by a control computer of the motor vehicle or by the at least one processor based on a determination by the control computer or the at least one processor of a proximity, relative to the motor vehicle, of a mobile communication device known to the control computer or to the at least one processor, in response to the mobile device status signal corresponding to the known mobile communication device being within a perimeter defined about the motor vehicle, operate in a gesture access mode by processing the activation and UWB radiation detection signals to determine whether an object is within a sensing region of the at least one UWB transceiver and, upon determining that the object is within the sensing region, controlling at least one actuator associated with an access closure of the motor vehicle to lock, unlock, open or close the access closure in response to the object within the sensing region exhibiting a predefined gesture, and in response to the mobile device status signal corresponding to the known mobile communication device being beyond the perimeter defined about the motor vehicle, operate in an inactive mode in which the at least one processor does not receive or does not act on UWB radiation detection signals.

In another aspect, a gesture access system for a motor vehicle, may comprise at least one ultra wide band (UWB) transceiver configured to be mounted to the motor vehicle, the at least one UWB transceiver responsive to activation signals to emit UWB radiation signals outwardly away from the motor vehicle, and to produce UWB radiation detection signals, the UWB radiation detection signals including at least one reflected UWB radiation signal if at least one of the emitted UWB radiation signals is reflected by an object toward and detected by the at least one UWB transceiver, at least one processor, and at least one memory having instructions stored therein which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to be operable in either of (i) a gesture access mode to control an actuator associated with an access closure of the motor vehicle to lock, unlock, open or close the access closure in response to an object within a sensing region of the at least one UWB transceiver exhibiting a predefined gesture, and (ii) an inactive mode in which the at least one processor does not receive or does not act on UWB radiation detection signals, the at least one memory further having instructions stored therein executable by the at least one processor to cause the at least one processor to operate in the gesture access mode upon determining by the control computer or the at least one processor that a mobile communication device known to the control computer or the at least one processor is within a perimeter defined about the motor vehicle, and to cause the at least one processor to operate in the inactive mode upon determining by the control computer or the at least one processor that the known mobile communication device is outside of a perimeter defined about the motor vehicle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram schematic of an embodiment of a gesture access and object impact avoidance system for a motor vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram schematic of an embodiment of the object detection module illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3A is a simplified diagram depicting illumination of visible lights in response to detection of an object entering the sensing region of the object detection module of FIG. 2.

FIG. 3B is a simplified side elevational view of a portion of a motor vehicle having the object detection module of FIG. 2 mounted thereto and depicting an example distance range of object detection by the module.

FIG. 4 is a simplified diagram depicting illumination of visible lights in response to detection of an object in the sensing region of the object detection module of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a simplified diagram depicting illumination of visible lights by the object detection module of FIG. 2 in response to exhibition of a predefined gesture by the detected object.

FIG. 6A is a simplified block diagram schematic of another embodiment of the object detection module illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6B is a simplified side elevational view of a portion of a motor vehicle having the object detection module of FIG. 6A mounted thereto and depicting an example distance range of object detection by the module.

FIG. 7 is a simplified block diagram schematic of yet another embodiment of the object detection module illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 a simplified block diagram schematic of a further embodiment of the object detection module illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a motor vehicle access closure release handle in which the object detection module of FIG. 2 or FIG. 6A may be embodied.

FIG. 10 is an exploded view of the motor vehicle access closure release handle of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a rear view of the motor vehicle access closure release handle of FIG. 8.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the motor vehicle access closure release handle of FIG. 9 as viewed along section lines A-A.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a motor vehicle access closure release handle in which the object detection module of FIG. 2 or FIG. 6A may be embodied.

FIG. 14 is an exploded front perspective view of the motor vehicle access closure release handle of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is an exploded rear perspective view of the motor vehicle access closure release handle of FIG. 13.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of the motor vehicle access closure release handle of FIG. 13 as viewed along section lines B-B.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a motor vehicle access closure arrangement in which the object detection module of any of FIG. 2, 6A, 7 or 8 may be embodied.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a portion of the motor vehicle illustrated in FIG. 17 with the access closure removed to illustrate mounting of the object detection module to a pillar of the motor vehicle.

FIG. 19 is a magnified view of the portion of the motor vehicle shown in FIG. 18 and illustrating an embodiment of a housing mounted to the motor vehicle pillar with one of the object detection modules of FIG. 2, 64, 7 or 8 mounted within the housing.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of the motor vehicle access closure shown in FIG. 17 illustrating an embodiment of a hand-engageable pocket disposed along an inside edge of the access closure.

FIG. 21 is a magnified view of the pocket illustrated in FIG. 20.

FIG. 22 is a simplified perspective view of an embodiment of a license plate bracket assembly in which the object detection module of any of FIG. 2, 6A7 or 8 may be embodied, shown mounted to a rear portion of a motor vehicle.

FIG. 23 is an exploded perspective side view of the license plate bracket assembly of FIG. 22.

FIG. 24 is a perspective cutaway side view of the license plate bracket assembly of FIG. 22.

FIG. 25 is a perspective top view of the license plate bracket assembly of FIG. 22 illustrating receipt of a license plate within a slot of the assembly.

FIG. 26 is a rear perspective view of the license plate bracket assembly of FIG. 22.

FIG. 27 is a front perspective view of a back plate of the license plate bracket assembly of FIG. 22.

FIG. 28 is a front perspective view of the license plate bracket assembly of FIG. 22.

FIG. 29 is a rear perspective view of a plate frame of the license plate bracket assembly of FIG. 22.

FIG. 30 is a rear perspective view of a plurality of ribbon wires and a jumper board of the license plate bracket assembly of FIG. 22.

FIG. 31 is a simplified front perspective view of another embodiment of a license plate bracket assembly.

FIG. 32 is a simplified side elevational view of a motor vehicle illustrating various locations on and about the motor vehicle at which the object detection module of any of FIG. 2, 6A7 or 8 may be mounted.

FIG. 33 is a simplified front perspective view of another motor vehicle illustrating various alternate or additional locations on and about the motor vehicle at which the object detection module of any of FIG. 2, 6A7 or 8 may be mounted.

FIG. 34 is a simplified rear perspective view of yet another motor vehicle illustrating further alternate or additional locations on and about the motor vehicle at which the object detection module of any of FIG. 2, 6A7 or 8 may be mounted.

FIG. 35 is a simplified flowchart of an embodiment of a gesture access process executable by one or more processors illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 36 is a simplified flowchart of an embodiment of a process for executing either of a gesture access process or an object impact avoidance process based upon the status of one or more vehicle sensors and/or switches.

FIG. 37 is a simplified flowchart of another embodiment of a process for executing either of a gesture access process or an object impact avoidance process based upon the status of one or more vehicle sensors and/or switches.

FIG. 38 is a simplified block diagram schematic of another embodiment of a gesture access system for a motor vehicle.

FIG. 39 is a simplified top plan view of an example implementation of the gesture access system depicted in FIG. 38 in a motor vehicle.

FIG. 40 is a simplified block diagram schematic of an embodiment of the object detection module illustrated in FIG. 38.

FIG. 41 is a simplified block diagram schematic of another embodiment of the object detection module illustrated in FIG. 38.

FIG. 42 is a simplified block diagram schematic of yet another embodiment of the object detection module illustrated in FIG. 38.

FIG. 43 is a simplified block diagram schematic of still another embodiment of the object detection module illustrated in FIG. 38.

FIG. 44 is a simplified flowchart of an embodiment of a process for determining by the vehicle control computer or the object detection module whether a known mobile communicate device is within ultra wide band communication range of the motor vehicle.

FIG. 45 is a simplified flowchart of an embodiment of a process for executing either of a gesture access process or an inactive mode based upon the status of mobile communication device detection signal resulting from the process illustrated in FIG. 44.

FIG. 46 is a simplified flowchart of an embodiment of a gesture access process activated by the process of FIG. 45.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of this disclosure, reference will now be made to a number of illustrative embodiments shown in the attached drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same.

This disclosure relates to object detection system mountable to or carried by a motor vehicle in any of various locations at or about the motor vehicle. In some embodiments, the object detection system may implemented solely in the form of a hands-free vehicle access system. In some such embodiments, one or more illumination devices may be implemented to provide visual feedback of objects being detected. In other embodiments, the object detection system may be implemented in the form of a combination hands-free vehicle access system and an object impact avoidance system. In such embodiments, the object detection system operates in a hands-free vehicle access mode under some conditions and in an object impact avoidance mode under other operating conditions.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an embodiment of an object detection system 10 is shown. The object detection system 10 illustratively includes an object detection module 12 having at least one processor or controller 14, at least one memory 16 and a communication circuit 18 for receiving vehicle access signals wirelessly transmitted by a transmitter 22 of a key fob 20. The object detection module 12 further illustratively includes object detection circuitry, and various example embodiments of such object detection circuitry will be described below with respect to FIGS. 2, 6A, 7 and 8.

In some embodiments, the object detection system 10 may include a vehicle control computer 24 electrically connected to the object detection module 12 and having at least one processor or controller 26 and at least one memory 28. In some embodiments, the vehicle control computer 24 may include a communication circuit 30 for receiving the vehicle access signals wirelessly transmitted by the transmitter 22 of the key fob 20. In some embodiments, the communication circuit 18 of the object detection module 12 and the communication circuit 30 of the vehicle control computer 24 may be configured to wirelessly communicate with one another in a conventional manner so that the processors 14, 26 may conduct information transfer wirelessly via the communication circuits 18, 30.

In some embodiments, the object detection system 10 may include one or more actuator driver circuits 40 for controllably driving one or more corresponding actuators 46. In some such embodiments, the one or more actuator driver circuits 40 may include at least one processor or controller 42 and at least one memory 44 in addition to one or more conventional driver circuits, although in other embodiments the processor or controller 42 and the memory 44 may be omitted. In some embodiments, one, some or all of the one or more driver circuits 40 may be electrically connected to the vehicle control computer 24 so that the processor or controller 26 of the vehicle control computer 24 may control the operation of one or more actuators 46 via control of such one or more driver circuits 40. Alternatively or additionally, at least one, some or all of the one or more driver circuits 40 may be electrically connected to the object detection module 12 as illustrated by dashed-line connection in FIG. 1, so that the processor or controller 14 of the object detection module 12 may control operation of one or more actuators 46 via control of such one or more driver circuits 40. In any case, the one or more actuators 46 are operatively coupled to one or more conventional, actuatable devices, mechanisms and/or systems 48. Examples of such actuators and actuatable devices, mechanisms and/or systems may include, but are not limited to, one or more electronically controllable motor vehicle access closure locks or locking systems, one or more electronically controllable motor vehicle access closure latches or latching systems, an automatic (i.e., electronically controllable) engine ignition system, an automatic (i.e., electronically controllable) motor vehicle braking system, an automatic (i.e., electronically controllable) motor vehicle steering system, an automated (i.e., electronically controllable) motor vehicle driving system (e.g., “self-driving” or “autonomous driving” system), and the like.

In some embodiments, the object detection system 10 may include one or more conventional vehicle operating parameter sensors, sensing systems and/or switches 50 carried by the motor vehicle and electrically connected to, or otherwise communicatively coupled to, the vehicle control computer 24. Examples of such vehicle operating parameter sensors, sensing systems and/or switches 50 may include, but are not limited to, an engine ignition sensor or sensing system, a vehicle speed sensor or sensing system, a transmission gear selector position sensor, sensing system or switch, a transmission gear position sensor, sensing system or switch, and the like.

In some embodiments, the object detection system 10 may include one or more conventional audio and/or illumination device driver circuits 60 for controllably driving one or more corresponding audio (or audible) devices and/or one or more illumination devices 66. In some such embodiments, the one or more audio and/or illumination device driver circuits 60 may include at least one processor or controller 62 and at least one memory 64 in addition to one or more conventional driver circuits, although in other embodiments the processor or controller 62 and the memory 64 may be omitted. In some embodiments, one, some or all of the one or more driver circuits 60 may be electrically connected to the vehicle control computer 24 so that the processor or controller 26 of the vehicle control computer 24 may control the operation of one or more audio and/or illumination devices 66 via control of such one or more driver circuits 60. Alternatively or additionally, at least one, some or all of the one or more driver circuits 60 may be electrically connected to the object detection module 12 as illustrated by dashed-line connection in FIG. 1, so that the processor or controller 14 of the object detection module 12 may control operation of one or more of the audio and/or illumination devices 66 via control of such one or more driver circuits 60. In any case, examples of such audio devices may include, but are not limited to, one or more electronically controllable audible warning device or systems, one or more electronically controllable audio notification devices or systems, one or more electronically controllable audio voice messaging devices or systems, one or more electrically controllable motor vehicle horns, and the like. Examples of such illumination devices may include, but are not limited to, one or more exterior motor vehicle illumination device, one or more interior motor vehicle illumination devices, one or more warning illumination devices, and the like.

Referring now to FIG. 2, one example embodiment 12₁ is shown of the object detection module 12 illustrated in FIG. 1. In the illustrated embodiment, the object detection module 12₁ includes a radiation emission and detection assembly 100 electrically connected to the at least one processor or controller 14₁ via a number M of signal paths, wherein M may be any positive integer. The radiation emission and detection assembly 100 illustratively includes a plurality of radiation transmitters 102 in the form of an array of two or more infrared light-emitting diodes (“IR LEDs”), and a plurality of radiation detectors 104 in the form of an array of two or more infrared light sensors (“IR sensors”). The IR LEDs 102 are conventional and are configured to be responsive to control signals produced by the processor or controller 14₁ to emit radiation outwardly from the assembly 100. The IR sensors 104 are likewise conventional and are configured to produce radiation detection signals. The radiation detection signals produced by the IR sensors 104 illustratively include reflected radiation signals if the emitted radiation is reflected by an object in a sensing region of the IR sensors 104, in accordance with a time sequence in which one or more of the IR LEDs 102 is activated to emit radiation and at least a portion of such emitted radiation is reflected by the object toward and detected by at least one of the IR sensors 104.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the plurality of IR LEDs 102 and the plurality of IR sensors 104 are arranged in pairs with each IR LED 102 emitting the IR radiation for detection by an associated IR sensor 104 paired therewith. In some such embodiments, an array of IR LEDs 102 and an array of IR sensors 104 of the radiation emission and detection assembly 100 may be provided together in the form of a preformed IR sensor module. In alternate embodiments, the plurality of IR LEDs 102 may be provided in the form of a preformed IR LED array. In some such embodiments, the plurality of IR sensors 104 may be provided individually and in other embodiments the plurality of IR sensors 104 may be provided in the form of an IR sensor array separate from the IR LED array. In still other alternate embodiments, the plurality of IR sensors 104 may be provided in the form of a preformed IR sensor array, and the plurality of IR LEDs 102 may be provided individually or in the form of an IR LED array. In embodiments in which the plurality of IR LEDs 102 is provided in the form of an array, such an array may be arranged linearly, e.g., in a continuous row. Likewise, in embodiments in which the plurality of IR sensors 104 is provided in the form of an array of IR sensors, such an array may be arrange linearly, e.g., in a continuous row. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 for example, the IR LEDs 102 and the IR sensors 104 are both arranged in the form of linear arrays. In alternate embodiments in which the plurality of IR LEDs 102 is provide in the form of an array, and/or in which the plurality of IR sensors 104 is provided in the form of an array, either or both such arrays may be arranged non-linearly and/or non-continuously, e.g., in groups of two or more spaced apart LEDs and/or sensors.

Radiation emission and detection assemblies 100 are conventionally associated with processors or controllers 14₁ as depicted in FIG. 2, and at least one associated memory 16₁ includes conventional instructions which, when executed by the processor or controller 14₁, cause the processor or controller 14₁ to determine from the IR sensor 104 such things as, without limitation, (a) when an object has been detected in a sensing region of the sensors 104 IR, (b) whether the object is of a predetermined type, and (c) whether the object has moved within the sensing region. Examples of known IR detector systems are disclosed in US Patent Application Publication 20120200486, US Patent Application Publication 20150069249, US Patent Application Publication 20120312956, and US Patent Application Publication 20150248796, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

In some embodiments, the IR LEDs 102 and IR sensors 104 illustratively take the form of an IR sensor module available from NEONODE, INC. (San Jose, Calif.). The modules typically contain multiple pairs of IR emitter LEDs 102 and IR sensors 104 for receiving reflected IR radiation. Such modules typically have a range of about 200 millimeters (mm) of off-surface detection and arranging IR LEDs 102 and the IR sensors 104 in pairs permits a higher resolution of detection. For instance, the assembly 100 of IR LEDs 102 and IR sensors 104 is capable of detecting the difference between a single finger and multiple fingers. As a result, the assembly 100 of IR LEDs 102 and IR sensors 104 is capable of detecting gesturing by a user's hand, for instance.

The embodiment of the object detection module 12₁ illustrated in FIG. 2 further includes a plurality of illumination devices 112. In some embodiments, the illumination devices 112 are spaced apart at least partially across the sensing region of the IR sensors 104, and in other embodiments one or more of the illumination devices 112 may be positioned remotely from the sensing region. In some embodiments, the illumination devices 112 may be arranged in the form of a linear or non-linear array 110 of equally or non-equally spaced-apart illumination devices. In some embodiments, the plurality of illumination devices include at least one LED configured to emit radiation in the visible spectrum. In such embodiments, the at least one LED may be configured to produce visible light in a single color or in multiple colors. In alternate embodiments, the plurality of illumination sources may include one or more conventional non-LED illumination sources.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the plurality of illumination devices 112 is provided in the form of an array 110 of visible light LEDs equal in number to the number of IR LEDs 102 and arranged such that each visible light LED 112 is co-extensive with a respective one of the plurality of IR LEDs 102 paired with a corresponding IR sensor 104. In the illustrated embodiment, each visible light LED 112 is positioned adjacent to and above a respective one of the plurality of IR LEDs 102 which is itself positioned adjacent to and above a respective paired one of the IR sensors 104. In alternate embodiments, the visible light LEDs 112, the IR LEDs 102 and the IR sensors 104 may be positioned in any order relative to one another and arranged horizontally, as shown in FIG. 2, vertically, diagonally or non-linearly. In some alternate embodiments, more or fewer visible light LEDs 112 than the IR LEDs 102 and/or the IR sensors 104 may be provided.

The one or more illumination devices 112 is/are illustratively included to provide visual feedback of one or more conditions relating to detection by the radiation emission and detection assembly 100 of an object within a sensing region of the assembly 100. In one example embodiment, two illumination devices 112 may be provided for producing the desired visual feedback. In one implementation of this example embodiment, a first one of the illumination devices 112 may be configured and controlled to illuminate with a first color to visibly indicate the detected presence by the radiation emission and detection assembly 100 of an object within the sensing region, and the second illumination device 112 may be configured and controlled to illuminate with a second color, different from the first, to visibly indicate that the detected object exhibits a predefined gesture. In another example embodiment, three illumination devices 112 may be provided. In this embodiment, a first one of the illumination devices 112 may be controlled to illuminate with a first color to visibly indicate the detected presence of an object within an area of the sensing region in which the radiation emission and detection assembly 100 is unable determine whether the detected object exhibits a predefined gesture (e.g., the object may be within a sub-region of the sensing region which is too small to allow determination of whether the object exhibits the predefined gesture), a second one of the illumination devices 112 is controlled to illuminate with a second color to visibly indicate the detected presence of an object within an area of the sensing region in which the radiation emission and detection assembly 100 is able to determine whether the detected object exhibits a predefined gesture, and a third one of the illumination devices is controlled to illuminate with a third color to visibly indicate that the object within the sensing region is detected by the radiation emission and detection assembly 100 as exhibiting a predefined gesture.

In other embodiments, the one or more illumination devices 112 may include any number of illumination devices 10. Multiple illumination devices 112, for example, may be illuminated in one or more colors to provide a desired visual feedback. In any such embodiments, in one or more illumination devices 112 may be LEDs, and one or more such LEDs may illustratively be provided in the form of RGB LEDs capable of illumination in more than one color. According to this variant, it will be appreciated that positive visual indication of various modes of operation of the radiation emission and detection assembly 100 may be carried out in numerous different colors, with each such color indicative of a different state of operation of the object detection module 12₁. As one non-limiting example, the color red may serve to indicate that the radiation emission and detection assembly 100 has detected an object (e.g., a hand or foot) within the sensing region, but is unable to determine whether the detected object is exhibiting a predefined gesture. The color green, in contrast, may serve to indicate that the detected object is exhibiting a predefined gesture and, consequently, that the predefined vehicle command associated with that predefined gesture (e.g., unlocking the vehicle closure, opening the vehicle closure, etc.) is being effected. In addition to green, other colors might be uniquely associated with different predefined commands. Thus, while green illumination might reflect that a closure for the vehicle is being unlocked, blue illumination, for example, may reflect that a fuel door latch has been opened, purple illumination may reflect that a window is being opened, etc.

In still other embodiments, in addition to or alternatively to color distinction, different operating modes, i.e., different detection modes, of the radiation emission and detection assembly 100 may be visually distinguished from one another by controlling the at least one illumination device 112 to switch on and off with different respective frequencies and/or duty cycles. In some embodiments which include multiple illumination devices 112, the different operating modes of the radiation emission and detection assembly 100 may be additionally or alternatively distinguished visually from one another by activating different subsets of the multiple illumination devices 112 for different operating or detection modes, and/or by sequentially activating the multiple illumination devices 112 or subsets thereof with different respective activation frequencies and/or duty cycles.

The object detection module 12₁ further illustratively includes a number N of conventional supporting circuits (SC) and conventional driver circuits (DC) 114₁-114_N, wherein N may be any positive integer. The supporting circuit(s) (SC) is/are each electrically connected to the processor or controller 14₁, and may include one or more conventional circuits configured to support the operation of the processor or controller 14₁ and/or other electrical circuits and/or components of the object detection module 12₁. Example supporting circuits may include, but are not limited to, one or more voltage supply regulation circuits, one or more capacitors, one or more resistors, one or more inductors, one or more oscillator circuits, and the like. The driver circuit(s) (DC) include one or more inputs electrically connected to the processor or controller 14₁ and one or more outputs electrically connected to the one or more illumination devices 112 and the plurality of IR LEDs 104. The driver circuit(s) DC is/are conventional and is/are configured to be responsive to one or more control signals supplied by the processor or controller 14₁ to selectively drive, i.e., activate and deactivate, the plurality of IR LEDs 102 and the one or more illumination devices 112.

It will be understood that the terms “processor” and “controller” used in this disclosure is comprehensive of any computer, processor, microchip processor, integrated circuit, or any other element(s), whether singly or in multiple parts, capable of carrying programming for performing the functions specified in the claims and this written description. The at least one processor or controller 14₁ may be a single such element which is resident on a printed circuit board with the other elements of the inventive access system. It may, alternatively, reside remotely from the other elements of the system. For example, but without limitation, the at least one processor or controller 14₁ may take the form of a physical processor or controller on-board the object detection module 12₁. Alternately or additionally, the at least one processor or controller 14₁ may be or include programming in the at least one processor or controller 26 of the vehicle control computer 24 illustrated in FIG. 1. Alternatively or additionally still, the at least one processor or controller 14₁ may be or include programming in the at least one processor or controller 42 of the actuator driver circuit(s) 40 and/or in the at least one processor or controller 62 of the audio/illumination device driver circuit(s) 60 and/or in at least one processor or controller residing in any location within the motor vehicle in which the system 10 is located. For instance, and without limitation, it is contemplated that one or more operations associated with one or more functions of the object detection module 12₁ described herein may be carried out, i.e., executed, by a first microprocessor and/or other control circuit(s) on-board the object detection module 12₁, while one or more operations associated with one or more other functions of the object detection module 12₁ described herein may be carried out, i.e., executed, by a second microprocessor and/or other circuit(s) remote from the object detection module 12₁, e.g., such as the processor or controller 26 on-board the vehicle control computer 24.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the IR LEDs 102, the IR sensors 104, the illumination devices 112, the at least one processor or controller 14₁ and the supporting/driver circuits 114₁-114_N are all mounted to a conventional circuit substrate 116 which is mounted within a housing 118. In some such embodiments, the IR LEDs 102, IR sensors 104 and visible LEDs 112 may be combined and provided in the form of a radiation assembly or module 120 mounted to the circuit substrate 116 as illustrated by example in FIG. 2. In alternate embodiments, the circuit substrate 116 may be provided in the form of two or more separate circuit substrates, and in such embodiments one or more of the IR LEDs 102, the IR sensors 104, the illumination devices 112, the at least one processor or controller 14₁ and the supporting/driver circuits 114₁-114_N may be mounted to a first one of the two or more circuit substrates and remaining one(s) of the one or more of the IR LEDs 102, the IR sensors 104, the illumination devices 112, the at least one processor or controller 14₁ and the supporting/driver circuits 114₁-114_N may be mounted to other(s) of the two or more circuit substrates. In some such embodiments, all such circuit substrates may be mounted to and/or within a single housing 118, and in other embodiments at least one of the two or more of the circuit substrates may be mounted to and/or within the housing 118 and one or more others of the two or more circuit substrates may be mounted to or within one or more other housings. In embodiments which the object detection module 12₁ includes multiple housings, two or more such housings may be mounted to the motor vehicle at or near a single location, and in other embodiments at least one of the multiple housings may be mounted to the motor vehicle at a first location and at least another of the multiple housings may be mounted to the motor vehicle at a second location remote from the first location. As one non-limiting example, at least the plurality of IR LEDs 102 and the plurality of IR sensors 104 may be mounted to or within a first housing mounted to the motor vehicle at a first location suitable for detection of one or more specific objects, and at least the one or more illumination devices may be mounted to or within a second housing mounted to the motor vehicle at a second location suitable for viewing by one or more users and/or operators of the motor vehicle.

In one embodiment, electrical power for the object detection module 12, the vehicle control computer 24, the actuator driver circuit(s) 40, the actuator(s) 46, the audio/illumination device driver circuit(s) 60 and the audio/illumination device(s) 66 is illustratively provided by a conventional electrical power source and/or system on-board the motor vehicle. In alternate embodiments, electrical power for the object detection module 12, the actuator driver circuit(s) 40, the actuator(s) 46, the audio/illumination device driver circuit(s) 60 and/or the audio/illumination device(s) 66 may be provided by one or more local power sources, e.g., one or more batteries, on-board the associated module(s), circuit(s) and/or device(s).

Referring now to FIGS. 3A-5, the radiation emission and detection assembly 100 is illustratively operable, under control of the processor or controller 14₁, to detect an object OB within a sensing region R (depicted schematically in dashed lines in FIGS. 3A-5) of the assembly 100, and to provide corresponding object detection signals to the processor or controller 14₁. In some embodiments, the processor or controller 14₁ is, in turn, operable, e.g., by executing corresponding instructions stored in the memory 16₁, to (1) determine from the object detection signals whether the object OB is within the sensing region R, (2) determine whether the object OB detected as being within the sensing region R exhibits a predefined gesture, and (3) if the detected object OB exhibits a predefined gesture, to (i) control the illumination devices 112 to selectively illuminate one or more of the illumination devices 112 to visibly indicate detection of the predefined gesture, and (ii) control, via the actuator control driver circuit(s), at least one of the actuators 46 associated with an access closure of the motor vehicle to lock or unlock the access closure and/or to open or close the access closure.

In some embodiments, the processor or controller 14₁ is operable upon detection of the object OB within the sensing region R to selectively illuminate the at least one illumination device 112 in a manner which visibly indicates the detected presence of the object OB within the sensing region R. In some such embodiments, the processor or controller 14₁ is operable upon detection of the object OB within the sensing region to selectively illuminate the at least one illumination device in a manner which indicates that the object OB is within a sub-region of the sensing region R that is too small to make a determination of whether the object OB exhibits the predefined gesture, and is operable to selectively illuminate the at least one illumination device in a manner which indicates that the object OB is within a sub-region of the sensing region R in which a determination can be made of whether the object OB exhibits the predefined gesture. In embodiments in which the at least one illumination device 112 is provided in the form of an array 110 of illumination devices spaced apart at least partially across the sensing region R, the processor or controller 14₁ is illustratively operable to selectively illuminate illumination devices 112 in the array 10 in a manner which correlates the location of the detected object OB within the sensing region R to a corresponding location or region along the illumination device array 110. In any case, the memory 16 illustratively has instructions stored therein which, when executed by the processor 14₁, causes the processor 14₁ to carry out the functions described below. It will be understood that in other embodiments, such instructions may be stored, in whole or in part, in one or more other memory units within the system 10 and/or may be executed, in whole or in part, by one or more other processors and/or controllers within the system 10.

In a first example state of operation illustrated in FIG. 3A, an object OB—in this example, a user's hand, foot or other object that is part of or controlled by the user—has entered the sensing region R of the radiation emission and detection assembly 100. Due to limitations of the assembly 100, however, the object is insufficiently positioned within the sensing region R, and/or is positioned within a sub-region sensing region R that is too small, for the assembly 100 to be able to determine if and when the object OB exhibits a predefined gesture. As a result, the processor or controller 14₁ is operable to control the illumination driver circuits DC to activate at least one of the illumination devices 112—in this example, the illumination devices 112′, 112′ proximate the IR LED/sensor pairs which detected the object OB— with a first color to visually indicate to the user that the object OB has been detected within a sub-region of the sensing region R, but is insufficiently positioned in the sensing region R such that the sub-region R is too small to enable to the assembly 100 to determine whether the object OB exhibits a predefined gesture. In this example, the applicable illumination devices 112′ are controlled to illuminate with the color red. Illustratively, red serves as a generally universal indicator of warning and so is appropriate as a visual indicator to the user that the object OB is insufficiently positioned in the sensing region R. As noted above, however, one or more other colors may alternatively be employed as desired. Alternatively or additionally still, one or more of the illumination devices 112′ (or 112 generally) may be controlled in another visually distinctive manner to provide the visual indicator that the object OB is insufficiently positioned in the sensing region R such that the sub-region R is too small to enable to the assembly 100 to determine whether the object OB exhibits a predefined gesture, e.g., sequentially activating and deactivating the illumination devices 112′ (or one or more of the illumination devices 112 generally) with a predefined frequency, activating and deactivating one or more of the illumination devices 112′ (or one or more of the illumination devices 112 generally) with a predefined frequency and/or duty cycle, and/or activating in any manner only a subset of the illumination devices 112′ (or one or more of the illumination devices 112 generally).

As illustrated by example in FIG. 3B, the object OB is detectable within a distance D1 of the assembly 100, where D1 defines a maximum axial sensing region R; that is, a maximum distance away from the assembly 100 at which the object OB is horizontally and vertically aligned with the assembly 100, i.e., directly opposite the assembly 100. As briefly described above, the radiation emission and detection assembly 100 made up of multiple IR LEDs 102 and IR sensors 104 illustratively has a range of about 200 millimeters (mm) of off-surface detection, and D1 is thus approximately equal to 200 mm. It is to be understood, however, that the object OB is also detectable by the assembly distances less than D1 at least partially off-axis vertically and/or horizontally relative to the assembly 100.

In a second example state of operation illustrated in FIG. 4, the object OB is positioned centrally within the sensing region R. In some cases, the user may have initially positioned the object OB in the location illustrated in FIG. 4, and in other cases the user may have moved the object OB to the location illustrated in FIG. 4 in response to visual feedback provided by illumination of one or more of the illumination devices 112, such as depicted in the example of FIG. 3A. In any case, in the position illustrated in FIG. 4, the object OB is sufficiently in the sensing region and/or otherwise within a sub-region of the sensing region R in which the radiation emission and detection assembly 100 is capable of detecting whether and when the object OB exhibits a predefined gesture. As a result, the processor or controller 14₁ is operable to control the illumination driver circuits DC to activate at least one of the illumination devices 112—in this example, the illumination devices 112″ proximate the IR LED/sensor pairs which detected the object OB—with a second color to visually indicate to the user that the object OB is detected within the sensing region R and is within a sub-region thereof in which the processor or controller 14₁ is capable of determining whether the object OB exhibits a predefined gesture.

In this example, the illumination devices 112″ are illuminated in the color amber (or yellow or gold), which serves as a visual feedback indication that the object OB is positioned within the sensing region R such that any subsequent gestures made by the object OB can be recognized by the processor or controller 14₁ as a predefined gesture or any of multiple different predefined gestures. As noted above, however, one or more other colors may alternatively be employed as desired. Alternatively or additionally still, one or more of the illumination devices 112″ (or one or more of the illumination devices 112 generally) may be controlled in another visually distinctive manner to provide the visual indication that the object OB is positioned within the sensing region R such that any subsequent gestures made by the object OB can be recognized by the processor or controller 14₁ as a predefined gesture or any of multiple different predefined gestures, e.g., sequentially activating and deactivating the illumination devices 112′ (or one or more illumination devices 112 generally) with a predefined frequency, activating and deactivating one or more of the illumination devices 112′ (or one or more illumination devices 112 generally) with a predefined frequency and/or duty cycle, and/or activating in any manner only a subset of the illumination devices 112′ (or any subset of the illumination devices 112 generally).

In a third example state of operation illustrated in FIG. 5, the object OB positioned centrally within the sensing region R (e.g., see FIG. 4) has exhibited a predefined gesture which has been detected by the assembly 100 and determined by the processor or controller 14₁ as correspond to a predefined gesture. As a result, the processor or controller 14₁ is operable to control the illumination driver circuits DC to activate at least one of the illumination devices 112—in this example, the illumination devices 112′″ proximate the IR LED/sensor pairs which detected the object OB (e.g., the same illumination devices 112″ illuminated in FIG. 4)—with a third color to visually indicate to the user that the detected object OB has exhibited a predefined gesture. Illumination in this instance is in the color green, which illustratively serves as a generally universal indicator of acceptance and so is appropriate as a visual indicator to the user that the gesture has been recognized. As noted above, however, one or more other colors may alternatively be employed as desired. Alternatively or additionally still, one or more of the illumination devices 112′″ (or one or more of the illumination devices 112 generally) may be controlled in another visually distinctive manner to provide the visual indication that the object OB positioned within the sensing region R has exhibited a predefined gesture, e.g., sequentially activating and deactivating the illumination devices 112′″ (or one or more illumination devices 112 generally) with a predefined frequency, activating and deactivating one or more of the illumination devices 112′″ (or one or more illumination devices 112 generally) with a predefined frequency and/or duty cycle, and/or activating in any manner only a subset of the illumination devices 112′″ (or any subset of the illumination devices 112 generally). In any case, the processor or controller 14₁ is further responsive to detection of the predefined gesture to control at least one of the actuator control driver circuit(s) 40 to control at least one of the actuators 46 associated with an access closure of the motor vehicle, e.g., to lock or unlock the access closure and/or to open or close the access closure.

The memory 16 illustratively has stored therein a vehicle access condition value which represents the predefined gesture. In alternate embodiments, the vehicle access condition value may be stored in one or more of the memory 16, the memory 28, the memory 44 and the memory 64. In some embodiments, the vehicle access condition value is illustratively stored in the form of a predefined set or sequence of values, and the processor 14₁ is illustratively operable to process the signal(s) produced by the assembly 100 to convert such signals to a detected set or sequence of values, to then compare the detected set or sequence of values to the stored, predefined set or sequence of values and to then determine that the predefined gesture has been exhibited and detected by the assembly 100 if the detected set or sequence of values matches the vehicle access condition value in the form of the stored, predefined set or sequence of values. In some such embodiments, the object detection module 12₁ may have a “learning” mode of operation in which the predefined gesture may be programmed by exhibiting the predefined gesture within the sensing region R of the assembly 100, then converting the signals produced by the assembly 100 in response to the exhibited gesture to a learned set or sequence of values, and then storing the learned set or sequence of values as the predefined set of sequence or values corresponding to the predefined gesture. In some embodiments, two or more different vehicle access condition values may be stored in the memory 16 (and/or any of the memories 28, 44 and 64) each corresponding to a different one of two or more corresponding predefined gestures, and the processor 14₁ may be operable to compare detected sets or sequences of values produced by the assembly 100 to each of the two or more different stored vehicle access condition values to determine whether one of the two or more predefined gestures has been exhibited. In some such embodiments, each of the multiple predefined gestures may be associated with a different user of the motor vehicle, and in other such embodiments any single user may have two or more predefined gestures store in the memory 14₁.

In some embodiments, the processor or controller 14₁ may be responsive to (i) detection of the object OB within a sub-region of the sensing region R but insufficiently positioned in the sensing region R such that the sub-region R is too small to enable to the assembly 100 to determine whether the object OB exhibits a predefined gesture, (ii) detection of the object OB positioned within the sensing region R such that any subsequent gestures made by the object OB can be recognized by the processor or controller 14₁ as a predefined gesture or any of multiple different predefined gestures, and/or (iii) detection of the predefined gesture, to control at least one of the audio/illumination device driver circuits 60 to activate one or more respective audio and/or illumination devices 66 in addition to the one or more illumination devices 112 or in instead of the one or more illumination devices 112.

While the foregoing example illustrates the selective illumination of several of the illumination devices 112 simultaneously, it will be appreciated that the number of lights illuminated in any given situation may vary depending on the type of feedback desired, the number and/or type of illumination devices 112 being employed in the system, etc. Likewise, although one or more of the illumination devices 112 may activated with one or more colors and/or be activated and deactivated, i.e., switched on and off, to provide visual feedback of the position of the object OB, one or more illumination devices 112 may alternatively be activated (and deactivated) in any manner which visually directs, e.g., coaxes, the user to move the object OB is a particular direction and/or to a particular position relative to the assembly 100.

In one embodiment, the at least one processor or controller 14₁ is illustratively operable, upon determining from the radiation emission and detection assembly 100 that a predefined gesture has been exhibited by an object OB within the sensing region R of the assembly 100, to communicate instructions to the vehicle control computer 24 to effect the desired operation (e.g., to unlock or lock a closure—such as a door, rear hatch, tailgate, etc., to open a closure—such as a rear hatch, tailgate, etc. and/or to activate, i.e., turn on, one or more interior and/or exterior vehicle illumination devices). In some alternate embodiments, the at least one processor or controller 14₁ may be operable, upon such determination, to control one or more actuator driver circuits 40 and/or one or more audio/illumination device driver circuits 60 directly to effect the desired operation. In other alternate embodiments, the at least one processor or controller 14₁ may be operable, upon such determination, to communicate instructions to the vehicle to one or more other processors or controllers, e.g., the at least one processor or controller 42 and/or the at least one processor or controller 62, to effect the desired operation. In still other alternate embodiments, the at least one processor or controller 14₁ may be operable, upon such determination, to effect the desired operation in part and to instruct one or more other processors or controllers, e.g., 26, 42, 62, to also effect the desired operation in part.

In some embodiments, one or more aspects of the gesture access process described above and illustrated by example with respect to FIGS. 3A-5 may be implemented in combination with, or integrated with, one or more existing vehicle access devices, techniques or processes. One non-limiting example of such an existing vehicle access device, technique and process is a conventional intelligent “key fob”-type remote used in PES-type access systems. Such access systems may typically operate in a conventional manner by issuing a short-range “challenge” signal to a “key fob” remote 20 carried by a user. If the “key fob” remote 20 is one that is authorized for the vehicle, the “challenge” response from the remote 20 results in the vehicle control computer 24 being placed in a mode where it will accept subsequent “commands” from the remote 20, such as unlocking or locking the vehicle, unlatching the trunk or rear hatch, or the like. The gesture access process described above and illustrated by example with respect to FIGS. 3A-5 may operatively interface with the vehicle control computer 24 so as to permit execution of the gesture access process by the processor or controller 14₁ only in circumstances when an authorized user seeks to use the system, e.g., such as when the user conveying gesture access movements to the radiation emission and detection assembly 100 is also carrying a key fob remote 20 or other remote device, e.g., a smart phone or other mobile device, which may communicate with the vehicle control computer 24 to allow the user to access the vehicle using predefined gesture access movements. Alternatively, the object detection module 12₁ may further include the necessary components to enable independent authentication of the user; that is, the electronics, hardware, firmware and/or software necessary to issue a challenge signal and to receive and evaluate the response from a user's key fob 20 and/or to otherwise communicate with one or more other mobile electronic devices 20 carried by the user for purposes of authenticating the user for subsequent recognition by the combination of the radiation emission and detection assembly 100 and the processor or controller 14₁ of a predefined gesture movement carried out by the user.

In embodiments in which the gesture access process illustrated by example in FIGS. 3A-5 and descried above is permitted only in circumstances when an authorized user seeks to use the system, e.g., such as when the user conveying gesture access movements to the radiation emission and detection assembly 100 is also carrying a key fob remote 20 or other such remote device, the memory 16₁ illustratively has a key fob code stored therein, and the processor or controller 14₁ is illustratively operable to receive a key fob signal(s) wirelessly transmitted by a key fob or other such remote device 20 within a key fob signal detection area of the motor vehicle, to determine a code based on the received key fob signal and to activate the IR LED(s) 102 and process the radiation detection signals detected by the IR sensor(s) 104 only if the determined code matches the stored key fob code. Illustratively, the key fob signal detection area is defined by a transmission/detection range of the key fob or other such remote device 20, which may typically be up to about 20-30 yards (or more). In some such embodiments, the key fob code is illustratively associated in the memory 16₁ with a vehicle access condition value, corresponding to a predefined gesture, also stored in the memory 16₁, and in such embodiments the processor or controller 14₁ is illustratively operable to process the radiation detection signals produced by the assembly 100 as described above and actuate a corresponding one of the actuators 46 only if the object OB in the sensing region R of the assembly 100 exhibits the predefined gesture corresponding to the vehicle access condition value associated in the memory 16₁ with the stored key fob code. In embodiments in which multiple key fob codes are stored in the memory 16₁, each such stored key fob code is illustratively associated in the memory 16₁ with a different vehicle access condition value mapped to or associated with a different corresponding predefined gesture. In such embodiments, the processor or controller 14₁ is illustratively operable to activate one or more of the actuators 46, as described above, only upon detection of a key fob code which matches one of the multiple stored key fob codes, followed by detection by the assembly 100 of a gesture exhibited within the sensing region R which matches the predefined gesture mapped to or associated with the vehicle access condition value associated in the memory with the matching key fob code.

Referring now to FIG. 6A, another example embodiment 12₂ is shown of the object detection module 12 illustrated in FIG. 1. In the illustrated embodiment, the object detection module 12₂ includes a radiation emission and detection assembly 130 electrically connected to the at least one processor or controller 14₂ via a number Q of signal paths, wherein Q may be any positive integer. The radiation emission and detection assembly 130 illustratively includes at least one radiation transmitter 132 in the form of a radar transmitter, and a plurality of radiation detectors 134 in the form of an array of two or more radar detectors. In some embodiments, a single radar transmitter 132 is positioned adjacent to or proximate to the plurality of radar detectors 134, and in other embodiments two or more radar transmitters 132 may be positioned adjacent to or proximate to the plurality of radar detectors as illustrated by dashed-line representation in FIG. 6A. In other embodiments, the one or more radar transmitters 132 may be spaced apart from the plurality of radar detectors 134.

The at least one radar transmitter 132 is illustratively conventional, and is configured to be responsive to control signals produced by the processor or controller 14₁ to emit radio frequency (RF) radiation outwardly from the assembly 100. In one embodiment, the at least one radar transmitter 132 is configured to emit radiation in the so-called short-range-radar (SRR) band, e.g., at and around 24 gigahertz (GHz). Alternatively or additionally, the at least one radar transmitter 132 may be configured to emit radiation in the so-called long-range-radar (LRR) band, e.g., at and around 77 GHz. It will be understood, however, that these numerical frequency ranges are provided only by way of example, and that the at least one radar transmitter 132 may be alternatively or additionally configured to emit radiation at radar frequencies less than 1 GHz and up to or greater than 300 GHz. In any case, each of the plurality of radar detectors 134 is configured to detect radar signals in frequency range(s) corresponding to that/those of the at least one radar transmitter 132, and to produce radiation detection signals corresponding thereto.

The radiation detection signals produced by the radar detectors 134 illustratively include reflected radar signals if the emitted radiation is reflected by an object in a sensing region of the assembly 130, in accordance with a conventional time sequence in which the at least one radar transmitter 132 is activated to emit radiation and at least a portion of such emitted radiation is reflected by the object toward and detected by at least one of the radar detectors 134. As illustrated by example in FIG. 6B, an object OBJ is detectable within a distance D2 of the assembly 130, where D2 defines a maximum axial sensing region; that is, a maximum distance away from the assembly 130 at which the object OB is horizontally and vertically aligned with the assembly 130, i.e., directly opposite the assembly 130. Within this distance D2, radar signals 133 emitted by the at least one radar transmitter 132 propagate outwardly away from the assembly 130 and from the motor vehicle MV, and at least a portion of such signals 133 which strike the object OBJ are reflected by the object OBJ back toward the assembly 130 in the form of reflected radar signals 135 which are detected by one or more of the plurality of radar detectors 134. The distance D2 between the assembly 130 mounted to the motor vehicle MV and a detectable object is illustratively several meters, and in some embodiments D2 may be greater than several meters. It is to be understood, however, that the object OBJ is also detectable by the assembly 130 at distances less than D2 and at least partially off-axis vertically and/or horizontally relative to the assembly 130.

Referring again to FIG. 6A, the illustrated object detection module 12₂ is illustratively otherwise identical in structure and operation to the object detection module 12₁ illustrated in FIGS. 2-5 and described above. For example, the object detection module 12₂ further illustratively includes a plurality of illumination devices 112 which may (or may not) be arranged in the form of a linear or non-linear array 110 of equally or non-equally spaced-apart illumination devices as illustrated in FIG. 6A. The plurality of illumination devices 112 are illustratively as described above with respect to FIG. 2. As another example, the object detection module 12₂ further illustratively includes a number R of conventional supporting circuits (SC) and conventional driver circuits (DC) 114₁-114_R, wherein R may be any positive integer. The supporting circuit(s) (SC) and the driver circuit(s) (DC) is/are each as described above with respect to FIG. 2. As yet another example, the components of the object detection module 12₂ are illustratively mounted to at least one circuit substrate 136, which is as described with respect to the circuit substrate 116 of FIG. 2, and the combination is illustratively mounted to or within a housing 138, which is as described with respect to the housing 118 of FIG. 2. In some embodiments, as also described above with respect to the object detection module 12₂ illustrated in FIG. 2, the at least one radar transmitter 132, the plurality of radar detectors 134 and the one or more visible LEDs 112 may be combined and provided in the form of a radiation assembly or module 140 mounted to the at least one circuit substrate 136 as illustrated by example in FIG. 6A.

Referring now to FIG. 7, yet another example embodiment 12₃ is shown of the object detection module 12 illustrated in FIG. 1. In the illustrated embodiment, the object detection module 12₃ includes the radiation emission and detection assembly 100 illustrated in FIG. 2 and described above, which is electrically connected to the at least one processor or controller 14₃ via a number M of signal paths, wherein M may be any positive integer. Unlike the object detection module 12₁ illustrated in FIG. 2, the object detection module 12₃ does not include the plurality of illumination devices 112. The object detection module 12₃ is otherwise identical in structure and operation to the object detection module 12₁ illustrated in FIGS. 2-5 and described above. For example, the object detection module 12₃ further illustratively includes a number T of conventional supporting circuits (SC) 114₁-114_T, wherein T may be any positive integer. In some embodiments, the object detection module 12₃ may further include one or more conventional driver circuits, as described above with respect to FIG. 2, in such embodiments in which the object detection module 12₃ includes one or more drivable devices. In any case, the supporting circuit(s) (SC) is/are each as described above with respect to FIG. 2. As another example, the components of the object detection module 12₃ are illustratively mounted to at least one circuit substrate 146, which is as described with respect to the circuit substrate 116 of FIG. 2, and the combination is illustratively mounted to or within a housing 148, which is as described with respect to the housing 118 of FIG. 2. In some embodiments, as also described above with respect to the object detection module 12₁ illustrated in FIG. 2, the plurality of IR LEDs 102 and the plurality of IR sensors 104 may be combined and provided in the form of a radiation assembly or module 150 mounted to the at least one circuit substrate 146 as illustrated by example in FIG. 7.

Referring now to FIG. 8, still another example embodiment 12₄ is shown of the object detection module 12 illustrated in FIG. 1. In the illustrated embodiment, the object detection module 12₄ includes the radiation emission and detection assembly 130 illustrated in FIG. 6A and described above, which is electrically connected to the at least one processor or controller 14₄ via a number M of signal paths, wherein M may be any positive integer. Unlike the object detection module 12₂ illustrated in FIG. 6A, the object detection module 12₄ does not include the plurality of illumination devices 112. The object detection module 12₄ is otherwise identical in structure and operation to the object detection module 12₂ illustrated in FIGS. 6A, 6B and described above. For example, the object detection module 12₄ further illustratively includes a number V of conventional supporting circuits (SC) 114₁-114_V, wherein V may be any positive integer. In some embodiments, the object detection module 12₄ may further include one or more conventional driver circuits, as described above with respect to FIG. 2, in such embodiments in which the object detection module 12₄ includes one or more drivable devices. In any case, the supporting circuit(s) (SC) is/are each as described above with respect to FIG. 2. As another example, the components of the object detection module 12₄ are illustratively mounted to at least one circuit substrate 156, which is as described with respect to the circuit substrate 116 of FIG. 2, and the combination is illustratively mounted to or within a housing 158, which is as described with respect to the housing 118 of FIG. 2. In some embodiments, as also described above with respect to the object detection module 12₂ illustrated in FIG. 6A, the at least one radar transmitter 132 and the plurality of radar detectors 134 may be combined and provided in the form of a radiation assembly or module 160 mounted to the at least one circuit substrate 156 as illustrated by example in FIG. 8.

The object detection module 12, as described above with respect to FIG. 1 and various example embodiments 12₁-12₄ of which are described above with respect to FIGS. 2-8, may be implemented in a motor vehicle in any number of ways. As one example, and without limitation, the object detection module 12₃ or the object detection module 12₄ may be embodied in a motor vehicle access handle (e.g., a door handle) assembly 200 as illustrated by example in FIGS. 9-12. Referring now to FIG. 9, the motor vehicle access handle assembly 200 is illustratively a strap-style handle of the type comprising a stationary base 202 fixable to a motor vehicle door and a movable portion 204 adapted to be grasped by a user and pulled outwardly away from the door to release the door latch and, thus, open the door. A handle base 206 is coupled to a pivot mount 210 configured to be pivotally mounted to the motor vehicle door and a latch actuator 208 operatively coupled with a door latch assembly located within the motor vehicle door. A grip cover 212 is mountable to and over the handle base 206, and the grip cover 212 carries a lens 214 through which radiation is emitted outwardly in the direction of a user approaching or positioned proximate the lens 214 and through which reflected radiation passes into the handle 200. Together, the grip cover 212 and the handle base 206 form a grip configured to be grasped by a human hand. As will be described in greater detail below, the grip cover 212 and handle base 206 together form a housing which carries the object detection module 12₃ or 12₄. In one embodiment, the radiation emission and detection assembly 100, including the plurality of IR LEDs 102 and the plurality of IR sensors 104, is housed within the movable portion 204 of the handle assembly 200, and in another embodiment the radiation emission and detection assembly 130, including the at least one radar transmitter 132 and the plurality of radar detectors 134, is housed within the movable portion 204.

Referring now to FIG. 10, the grip cover 212 includes an opening 222 therein in which the lens 214 is mounted. The lens 214 may be secured within the opening 222 in any known fashion. In the illustrated embodiment, lens 214 includes a base portion that is wider than the opening 222, whereby the lens 214 is inserted through the opening 222 from the inside of the grip cover 212 and the base portion secured to the grip cover 212 with epoxy or other suitable adhesive.

As further illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11, the object detection module 12₃ or 12₄ is shown including the respective radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130 mounted to a respective circuit substrate 146, 156. The radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130 is illustratively mounted to the circuit substrate 146, 156, and the circuit substrate 146, 156 is illustratively mounted to a support member 216. The radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130, the circuit substrate 146, 156 and the support member 216 are all illustratively configured such that, when assembled, the radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130 is aligned with the opening 222 and the lens 214 described above. Illustratively, the support member 16 is dimensioned to be sandwiched between the handle base 206 and the grip cover 212 so as to securely position the object detection module 12₃, 12₄ within the housing defined by the handle base 206 and the grip cover 212.

Referring now to FIGS. 10 and 12, the support member 216 can be seen to include a plurality of outwardly facing locking tabs 218 which engage with corresponding locking tabs 220 defined on the handle base 206 to securely capture the support member 216 in place within the housing defined by the handle base 206 and the grip cover 212. And as shown best in FIG. 11, an opening 224 defined in the support member 216 provides a pass-through for wiring (not depicted) for electrically connecting the components mounted to the circuit substrate 146, 156 to a power source (e.g., the vehicle battery) and, optionally, to one or more of the motor vehicle's onboard computers, e.g., 24, in order to effect vehicle commands, in some embodiments, as described herein.

As another example implementation of the object detection module 12 in a motor vehicle, the object detection module 12₁ or the object detection module 12₂ may likewise be embodied in a motor vehicle access handle assembly (e.g., a door handle) 300 as illustrated by example in FIGS. 13-16. Referring to FIGS. 13 through 16, the motor vehicle access handle assembly 300 is illustratively a strap-style handle of the type including a stationary base 302 fixable to a motor vehicle door and a movable portion 304 adapted to be grasped by a user and pulled outwardly away from the door to release the door latch and, thus, open the door. A handle base 306 is coupled to a pivot mount 310 configured to be pivotally mounted to the motor vehicle door and a latch actuator 308 operatively coupled with a door latch assembly located within the motor vehicle door. A grip cover 312 is mountable to and over the handle base 306, and the grip cover 312 illustratively carries a lens 314 through which radiation is emitted outwardly in the direction of a user approaching or positioned proximate the lens 314, through which reflected radiation passes into the handle assembly 300 and through which illumination of at the at least one illumination source 112 is visible. Together, the grip cover 312 and the handle base 306 form a grip configured to be grasped by a human hand. As will be described in greater detail below, the grip cover 312 and handle base 306 together form a housing which carries the object detection module 12₁ or 12₂. In one embodiment, the radiation emission and detection assembly 100, including the plurality of IR LEDs 102 and the plurality of IR sensors 104, is housed within the movable portion 304 of the handle assembly 300, and in another embodiment the radiation emission and detection assembly 130, including the at least one radar transmitter 132 and the plurality of radar detectors 134, is housed within the movable portion 304. In both embodiments, the array 110 of illumination sources 112 is also housed within the movable portion 304 of the handle assembly, although in alternate embodiments the array 110 may be replaced by one or more individual illumination sources 112 as described above.

As in the door handle assembly 200, the grip cover 312 includes an opening 322 therein configured to receive the lens 314, and the lens 314 may be secured to the grip cover 312 within the opening 322 via any conventional means. As further illustrated in FIGS. 14 and 15, the object detection module 12₁ or 12₂ is shown including the respective radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130 mounted to a respective circuit substrate 116, 136. The illumination device array 110 is also illustratively mounted to the circuit substrate 116, 136 adjacent to the radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130 as described above, and in the illustrated embodiment a light-transmissive cover or lens 315 is mounted to the circuit substrate 116, 136 over the illumination device array 110. In one embodiment, the array 110 of illumination devices 112 is aligned with and relative to the radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130 such that each of the illumination devices 112 is positioned adjacent to a corresponding one of the plurality of IR sensors 104, in the case of the assembly 100, or adjacent to a corresponding one of the plurality of radar detectors 134 in the case of the assembly 130.

The circuit substrate 116, 136 is illustratively mounted to a support member 316 between sidewalls 324 of the grip cover 312. In some embodiments, the radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130, the illumination device array 110 and the circuit substrate 116, 136 are all illustratively configured such that, when assembled, the radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130 and the illumination device array 110 are together aligned with the opening 322 and the lens 314 described above. In alternate embodiments, the grip cover 312 may be at least partially light transmissive, and in such embodiments illumination of the one or more illumination devices 112 is viewable through the grip cover 312. In still other embodiments, the grip cover 312 may define another opening and be fitted with another lens through which illumination of the one or more illumination devices 112 may be viewed. In any case, the support member 316 is illustratively dimensioned to be sandwiched between the handle base 206 and the grip cover 212 so as to securely position the object detection module 121, 122 within the housing defined by the handle base 206 and the grip cover 212.

With particular reference to FIGS. 15 and 16, secure positioning of the circuit substrate 116, 136 carrying the radiation emission and detector assembly 100, 130 and the illumination device array 110220 is accomplished via the support member 316 which extends inwardly from the grip cover 312 so as to be positioned inside the moveable portion 304 of the handle assembly 300. The support member 316 includes sidewalls on which are disposed a plurality of outwardly facing locking tabs 318 which engage with corresponding locking tabs 326 defined on the base portion 306 to securely connect the and handle base 306 to the grip cover 312. The circuit substrate 116, 136 is sandwiched between the support member 316 and the handle base 312, while the radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130 and the illumination device array 110 are IR received between the sidewalls of the support member 316.

In either of the motor vehicle access handle assemblies 200, 300 illustrated in FIGS. 9-16, it will be understood that some embodiments may include the at least one respective processor or controller 141-144 mounted to the respective circuit substrate 116, 136, 146, 156 as described above with respect to FIGS. 1-8. In some alternate embodiments, the at least one respective processor or controller 141-144 may be positioned elsewhere on the vehicle and operatively connected to the radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130 and, in the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 13-16, to the illumination device array 110. In either case, it will also be understood that some embodiments may include the support circuit(s) and, in the case of the modules 121, 122, 114 also mounted to the respective circuit substrate 116, 136, 146, 156 as described above with respect to FIGS. 1-8. In alternate embodiments, at least one of the support circuit(s) and/or at least one of the driver circuit(s) (in embodiments which include at least one driver circuit) may be positioned elsewhere on the vehicle and operatively connected to the respective circuit components of the modules 121-124. In any such embodiment, the respective processor or controller 14₁-14₄ is operable as described above with respect to FIGS. 2-8 to actuate at least one actuator 46 upon detection of a predefined gesture, to controllably illuminate the one or more illumination sources 112, as also described above, in embodiments which include the one or more illumination sources 112 and, in some embodiments, to control activation of one or more audio and/or illumination devices 66.

As yet another example implementation of the object detection module 12 in a motor vehicle, any of the object detection modules 12₁-12₄ may be embodied in a motor vehicle access assembly 400 as illustrated by example in FIGS. 17-21. Referring to FIGS. 17 through 19, the motor vehicle access assembly 400 is illustratively provided in the form of a housing 118, 138, 148, 158 of a respective one of the object detection modules 12₁-12₄ adapted to be mounted to a support member 406 of the motor vehicle, e.g., a pillar, positioned between two access closures, e.g., doors, 402, 404 of the motor vehicle. As most clearly shown in FIG. 19, the housing 118, 138, 148, 158 of any of the respective object detection modules 12₁-12₄ is illustratively provided in the form of a first housing portion 408 mounted to the vehicle structure 406, and a second elongated housing portion 410 mounted to the first housing portion 408 such that a free elongated end of the second elongated housing 410 is vertically oriented with a vertical seam 415 defined between the vehicle doors 402, 404. In alternate embodiments, the vertical seam 415 may be defined between an access closure of the motor vehicle and a stationary panel of the motor vehicle.

In embodiments in which the object detection module 12 is provided in the form of the object detection module 12₃ or 12₄, the radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130 is illustratively provided in the form of a radiation assembly or module 150, 160 as described above, and in embodiments in which the object detection module 12 is provided in the form of the object detection module 12₁ or 12₂, the radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130 and the one or more illumination devices 112 are together provided in the form of a radiation assembly or module 120, 140 as also described above. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 18 and 19, the radiation assembly or module 120, 140, 150, 160 is illustratively an elongated assembly or module mounted to the elongated free end of the housing portion 410 such that the elongated radiation assembly or module 120, 140, 150, 160 is vertically oriented with the vertical seam 415, and such that the housing portion 410 and the radiation assembly or module 120, 140, 150, 160 together are illustratively recessed within the motor vehicle relative to an outer surface of the motor vehicle. In alternate embodiments, the housing portion 410 and the radiation assembly or module 120, 140, 150, 160 are configured such that the housing portion 410 is recessed within the motor vehicle relative to the outer surface of the motor vehicle but at least a portion of the radiation assembly or module 120, 140, 150, 160 extends at least partially into the vertical seam 415. In some such embodiments, the radiation assembly or module 120, 140, 150, 160 may at least partially protrude from the vertical seam 415 and thus extend outwardly from the outer surface of the motor vehicle adjacent one either side of the vertical seam 415, and in other such embodiments the radiation assembly or module 120, 140, 150, 160 may at least partially extend into the vertical seam 415, but not protrude outwardly therefrom and thus not extend outwardly from the outer surface of the motor vehicle. In some embodiments, an elongated lens 412 may cover the radiation assembly or module 120, 140, 150, 160 to protect the same from the outside environment, as illustrated by example in FIG. 19.

Thusly positioned, the at least one radiation transmitter, e.g., the plurality of IR LEDs 102 or the at least one radar transmitter, is positioned relative to the vertical seam 415 such that, when activated, radiation is emitted outwardly through the vertical oriented seam 415 at least partially along its length and, if an object is positioned within a sensing region of the radiation assembly or module 120, 140, 150, 160, at least some reflected radiation signals are reflected back towards (and in some embodiments, through) the vertically oriented seam 415 to be detected by one or more of the radiation receivers, e.g., one or more of the IR sensors 104 or one or more of the radar detectors 134. Otherwise, the respective processor or controller 14₁-14₄ is operable as described above with respect to FIGS. 2-8 to actuate at least one actuator 46 upon detection of a predefined gesture, to controllably illuminate the one or more illumination sources 112, as also described above, in embodiments which include the one or more illumination sources 112 and, in some embodiments, to control activation of one or more audio and/or illumination devices 66.

As further illustrated by example in FIGS. 20 and 21, the vehicle access closure 402, e.g., door, which partially defines the vertically oriented seam 415 may be fitted with a passive handle 420 along an inside edge 425 of the closure 402, i.e., along an interior, side surface of the door 402 which is not seen or accessible outside of the motor vehicle when the door 402 is closed but which is seen and accessible when the door 402 is at least partially open. In the illustrated embodiment, the passive handle 420 is illustratively provided in the form of a pocket 422 surrounded by a flange 426 which is attached to the inside edge 425 of the door 402. The pocket 422 illustratively has a sidewall which extends into the inside edge 425 of the door 402 to a bottom surface 424 so as to form a cavity 428 bound by the sides and bottom 424 of the pocket 422. Illustratively, the cavity 428 of the pocket 402 is sized to receive at least two or more fingers of a human hand therein to allow the human hand to facilitate opening the door 402. In the illustrated embodiment, the processor or controller 14₁-14₄ is illustratively operable, upon exhibition of a predefined gesture detected by the radiation assembly or module 120, 140, 150, 160, to control at least one actuator driver circuit 40 to activate at least one actuator 46 associated with the door 402 to at least partially open the door 402 sufficiently to allow the two or more fingers of a human hand to access and engage the pocket 402.

As a further example implementation of the object detection module 12 in a motor vehicle, any of the object detection modules 12₁-12₄ may be embodied in a motor vehicle access assembly 400 as illustrated by example in FIGS. 22-31. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 21-31, the motor vehicle access assembly 400 illustratively takes the form of a license plate bracket and sensor assembly 500, 500′ for providing hands-free access to a rear access closure, e.g., door, of a motor vehicle 522. It should be appreciated that the terms “rear access closure” and “rear access door” as used herein may include any rear access door for a motor vehicle such as, but not limited to, a lift gate, trunk and tailgate. Additionally, the term “motor vehicle” as used herein may encompass various types of motor vehicles including, but not limited to, automobiles, trucks, all-terrain vehicles and the like.

With specific reference to FIG. 23, the assembly 500 includes a generally rectangular-shaped back plate 524 that extends along a plane C. The back plate 524 presents a front surface 526, a rear surface 528, a top 530, a bottom 532 and a pair of sides 534 that extend between the top 530 and bottom 532. It should be appreciated that the back plate 524 could have other shapes, such as, but not limited to, an oval shape.

As best shown in FIG. 24, a first flange 536 extends from the top 530 of the back plate 524 over the front surface 526 at a viewing angle α. The viewing angle α is acute relative to the plane C of the back plate 524. As best shown in FIG. 27, the first flange 536 extends between a pair of edges 538 that are spaced inwardly from the sides 534 of the back plate 524. A protrusion 540 extends transversely from the front surface 526 of the back plate 524 adjacent to each of the edges 538 of the first flange 536.

An object detection assembly 542, in the form of one of the object detection module 12₁-12₄, overlies the first flange 536. The object detection assembly 542 illustratively includes a radiation emission and detection assembly 544, e.g., in the form of one of the radiation assemblies or modules 120, 140, 150, 160, at the viewing angle α relative to the plane C for detecting movement in a sensing region in front of the assembly 544. It should be appreciated that since the viewing angle α is acute relative to the plane C of the back plate 524, once the assembly 500 is attached or mounted to the motor vehicle 522, the radiation emission and detection assembly 544 is pointed generally toward the feet of an operator that is standing behind the motor vehicle 522, thus allowing the assembly 544 to detect movement in the region of the feet of the operator.

As best shown in FIGS. 27 and 29, the object detection assembly 542 extends between a pair of extremities 546, with each of the extremities 546 aligned with one of the edges 538 of the first flange 536. A pair of tabs 548 extend away from the object detection assembly 542, each aligned with one of the extremities 546 and disposed against one of the protrusions 540. A pair of first fasteners 552 each extend through one of the tabs 548 and one of the protrusions 540 to secure the object detection assembly 542 to the first protrusions 540. In the example embodiment, the first fasteners 552 are bolts, however, it should be appreciated that they could be other types of fasteners including, but not limited to, screws or adhesives.

As best shown in FIGS. 22-25, a plate frame 554 overlies the back plate 524. The plate frame 554 has a generally rectangular shaped cross-section and includes an upper segment 556 disposed over the top 530 of the back plate 524, a lower segment 558 disposed over the bottom 532 of the back plate 524 and a pair of flank segments 560 that extend between the upper and lower segments 556, 558 and are disposed over the sides 534 of the back plate 524. The plate frame 554 further defines a window 564 between the upper and lower and flank segments 556, 558, 560 for providing visibility to a license plate 525 disposed between the back plate 524 and the plate frame 554.

As best shown in FIG. 25, the bottom 532 of the back plate 524 and the lower segment 558 of the plate frame 554 define a plate slot 562 therebetween for receiving a license plate 525 between the back plate 524 and the plate frame 554. Said another way, a license plate 525 may be inserted into the object detection assembly 520 through the plate slot 562.

As best shown in FIGS. 23 and 27, a plurality of connection orifices 559 are defined by the plate frame 554 and the back plate 524. A plurality of second fasteners 561 extend through the connection orifices 559 and the license plate 525 for connecting the assembly 500 and the license plate 525 to the motor vehicle 522. In the example embodiments, the second fasteners 561 are bolts; however, it should be appreciated that other types of fasteners could be utilized.

As best shown in FIGS. 23 and 24, a generally rectangular-shaped cover member 566 extends from the lower segment 558 into the window 564 toward the upper segment 556. The cover member 566 defines a linear slit 568 that extends parallel to the lower segment 558 of the plate frame 554.

The processor or controller 14₁-14₂ of the object detection assembly 542 is depicted in the example embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 22-30 in the form of a controller 570, 571, which is electrically connected to the object detection assembly 542 for processing information received by the radiation emission and detection assembly 544. In the first example embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 22-30, the controller includes a circuit board 570 that is disposed in alignment with the cover member 566 and is electrically connected to the assembly 544. The circuit board 570 illustratively includes a microprocessor 571 (schematically shown) for processing information received by the assembly 544.

In the illustrated embodiment, the one or more illumination devices 112 is/are depicted in the form of a plurality of light emitting diodes 572 mounted to the circuit board 570 in alignment with the slit 568. Each LED in the plurality of light emitting diodes 572 is electrically connected to the circuit board 570 for emitting light in response to the detection of movement by the assembly 544 as described above. A lens 574 is illustratively disposed between the circuit board 570 and the cover member 566, and overlies the plurality of light emitting diodes 572 for holding the light emitting diodes 572 in place and for protecting the light emitting diodes 572 while allowing light from the light emitting diodes 572 to pass through the lens 574. It should be appreciated that other light emitting devices could be utilized instead of light emitting diodes 572.

In addition to, or as an alternative to the light emitting diodes 572, an audible device 573 (schematically shown and which may be one of the audio devices 66 depicted in FIG. 1) such as a speaker or piezoelectric element may also be disposed on the circuit board 570 or other location of the assembly to provide feedback to an operator of the motor vehicle 522 during use of the object detection assembly 542.

A plurality of first ribbon wires 576 and a jumper board 578 extend between and electrically connect the circuit board 570 and the radiation emission and detection assembly 544. The first ribbon wires 576 extend along the lower and flank segments 558, 560 of the plate frame 554. A first potting material 582 is disposed between back plate 524 and ribbon wires 580 and jumper board 578 for damping vibrations between the back plate 524 and the assembly 544, first ribbon wires 576 and jumper board 578 and for holding the first ribbon wires 576 and jumper board 578 in place relative to the back plate 524.

As best shown in FIGS. 24 and 25, a support member 579 is disposed beneath and engages the first flange 536. The support member 579 extends between the flank segments 557 for supporting the first flange 536. A second flange 584 extends from the upper segment 556 of the plate frame 554 at the viewing angle α and overlies the first flange 536. The second flange 584 and the support member 579 define a detector slot 581 therebetween receiving the object detection assembly 542 for protecting the assembly 542.

As best shown in FIG. 27, the back plate 524 defines a wire opening 588 adjacent to the bottom 532 of the back plate 524. A plurality of second ribbon wires 586 extend from circuit board 570 along the front surface 526 of the back plate 524 adjacent to the bottom 532 of the back plate 524 and through the wire opening 588 and across the rear surface 528 of the back plate 524. A second potting material 590 overlies the second ribbon wires 586 for damping vibrations of the plurality of second ribbon wires 586 and for holding the second ribbon wires 586 in place relative to the rear surface 528 of the back plate 524.

As best shown in FIGS. 23 and 24, a pocket insert 592 of a metal material is fixed to the rear surface 528 of the back plate 524 for being received by a mounting hole on the vehicle 522 for connecting the license plate bracket and sensor assembly 500 to the motor vehicle 522. The pocket insert 592 has a tube portion 594 that extends between a rearward end 596 and a forward end 598. A lip 600 extends outwardly from the forward end 598 of the tube portion 594 and fixedly engages the rear surface 528 of the back plate 524 for connecting the pocket insert 592 to the back plate 524. A lid 602 is disposed across the rearward end 596 of the tube portion 594 to close the rearward end 596. The lid 602 defines a passage 604 that extends therethrough.

The second ribbon wires 586 further extend through the passage 604 for allowing the second ribbon wires 586 to be connected to a computer of the motor vehicle 522 for electrically connecting the circuit board 570 to the computer, e.g., the vehicle control computer 24, of the motor vehicle 522. More specifically, the second wires 576, 580, 586 electrically connect the license plate bracket and sensor assembly 500 to the existing passive entry system of the motor vehicle 522.

Operation of the license plate bracket and sensor assembly 500 is as described above with respect to FIGS. 2-8 in that the microprocessor 571 is programmed to identify a recognizable, predetermined, position, motion or reflection base on signals provided by the object detection assembly 542. Upon recognition of such a position, motion or reflection, the microprocessor 571 illustratively sends one or more signals to the computer 24 of the motor vehicle 522 to open the rear access enclosure. In other words, the microprocessor 571 is configured to receive signals from the object detection assembly 542, and to open the rear access closure in response to the reception and recognition of one or more predetermined signals corresponding to a predefine gesture, e.g., a hand wave or foot wave, within a detection range of the object detection assembly 542.

In embodiments in which the object detection assembly 542 is implemented in the form of the object detection module 12₁ or 12₂ illustrated in FIGS. 2-6B and described above, the microprocessor 571 is further illustratively configured to cause the one or more illumination devices 112, i.e., the light emitting diodes 572, to emit light, as described above, in a manner which directs the operator to the proper position or motion to open the rear access enclosure of the motor vehicle 522. As one illustrative example, which should not be considered limiting in any way, as the user approaches the side of the assembly 500 the light emitting diodes 572 may initially be controlled to illuminate in red. As the user moves a hand or foot toward the middle of the assembly 500, the light emitting diodes 572 may be controlled to illuminate in amber, and finally to illuminate in green to indicate actuation of an opening mechanism 48 of the rear access closure of the motor vehicle 522. Additionally or as an alternative, the audible device 573 may be activated to further guide the user to the proper position or through the proper predetermined movement to open the rear access closure. Of course, other configurations and/or control techniques of the light emitting diodes 571 may be alternatively or additionally be implemented, several examples of which are described hereinabove.

In embodiments in which the object detection assembly 542 is implemented in the form of the object detection module 12₃ or 12₄ illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8 respectively, operation of the assembly 500 may be as just described except with no visual feedback from the module 12₃, 12₄ due to the absence of the one or more illumination devices 112, e.g., in the form of the light emitting diodes 571.

In the second example embodiment of the license plate bracket and sensor assembly 500′ illustrated in FIG. 31, the plate frame only extends across the top of the back plate 524′, such that only an upper portion of a license plate is covered by the plate frame. In this embodiment, the object detection module 12₁-12₄ may be incorporated into an upper segment 556′ of the plate frame. Furthermore, a pair of visibility lights 605 may be connected to the upper segment 556′ of the plate frame for illuminating the license plate in the event that the assembly 500′ casts a shadow on the license plate by blocking the factory installed lights of the motor vehicle 522. It should be appreciated that the first example embodiment of the assembly 500 could also include or more of such visibility lights 605.

Referring now to FIG. 32, a motor vehicle 630 is shown depicting various example locations on and around the motor vehicle 630 to or at which all or part of the object detection module 12 (e.g., in any of its example forms 12₁-12₄) may be attached, affixed, mounted, integrated or otherwise positioned (collectively “mounted”). For example, one or more object detection modules 12 may be mounted at or to one or more of a side door 632, a rocker panel 634, a so-called “A pillar” 636, a so-called “B pillar” 638, a so-called “C pillar” 640 and a side window 642. Referring to FIG. 33, another motor vehicle 650 is shown depicting other various example locations on and around the motor vehicle 650 to or at which all or part of the object detection module 12 (e.g., in any of its example forms 12₁-12₄) may be attached, affixed, mounted, integrated or otherwise positioned (collectively “mounted”). For example, one or more object detection modules 12 may be mounted at or to one or more of an emblem or plaque 654 affixed to a front grille 654 of a hood 652 or front end of the vehicle 650, the front grille 654 or hood 652 itself, a front bumper 656, one or both of the front headlights 660 (or other light fixture(s) on the front of the vehicle 650 and/or on the side of the vehicle 650 adjacent to the front of the vehicle 650), a front windshield 662 and one or more side mirror housings 664. Referring to FIG. 34, yet another motor vehicle 670 is shown depicting still other various example locations on and around the motor vehicle 670 to or at which all or part of the object detection module 12 (e.g., in any of its example forms 12₁-12₄) may be attached, affixed, mounted, integrated or otherwise positioned (collectively “mounted”). For example, one or more object detection modules 12 may be mounted at or to one or more of a handle or handle area 674 of a rear closure 672, e.g., rear door or hatch, of the motor vehicle 670, an accessory area 676, e.g., in or to which a license plate and/or lighting may be mounted, a license plate frame 678, a license plate lamp assembly or other rear lamp assembly 680, an emblem or plaque 682 affixed to the rear closure 672, a rear spoiler 684, a brake lamp assembly 686 mounted to the rear spoiler 684 or to the rear closure 672, a rear window 688, the rear bumper 690, a main or auxiliary license plate area 692 of or adjacent to the rear bumper 690, a rear lamp assembly 694 mounted to or within the rear bumper 690, at least one rear lamp assembly 696 mounted to the rear closure 672 and at least one rear lamp assembly 698 mounted to the body of the motor vehicle 670 adjacent to the rear closure 672.

In some embodiments, at least one object detection module 12 illustrated in any of FIGS. 13-34 may include at least one illumination device 112, and in such embodiments the at least one object detection module 12 may be implemented in the form of the object detection module 12₁ and/or the object detection module 12₂ operable to provide for gesture access to the motor vehicle with visual feedback provided by the at least one illumination device 112 as described hereinabove. In some such embodiments and/or in other embodiments, at least one object detection module 12 illustrated in any of FIGS. 9-12 and 17-34 may not include any illumination device(s) 112, and in such embodiments the at least one object detection module 12 may be implemented in the form of the object detection module 12₃ and/or the object detection module 12₄ operable to provide for gesture access to the motor vehicle with no visual feedback provided by the object detection module 12₃ and/or the object detection module 12₄ as also described hereinabove. An example process for providing for such gesture access is illustrated in FIG. 35 and will be described in detail below. In some such embodiments and/or in still other embodiments, at least one object detection module 12 illustrated in any of FIGS. 9-34 may be implemented in the form of the object detection module 12₂ and/or the object detection module 12₄ which include the radiation emission and detection assembly 130, in the form of at least one radar transmitter 132 and a plurality of radar detectors or receivers 134, to selectively provide for (i) gesture access to the motor vehicle, with or without visual feedback when, e.g., movement of the motor vehicle is disabled, and (ii) object detection for object impact avoidance when, e.g., the motor vehicle is moving or is enabled to move, as briefly described above. Example processes for selectively providing for gesture access and object impact avoidance are illustrated in FIGS. 36 and 37 and will be described in detail below.

Referring now to FIG. 35, a simplified flowchart is shown of a process 700 for providing gesture access to one or more access closures of a motor vehicle in or to which at least one object detection module 12 is mounted. In one embodiment, the process 700 is illustratively stored in the at least one memory 16 of the object detection module 12 in the form of instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor or controller 14 of the object detection module 12, cause the at least one processor or controller 14 to execute the corresponding functions. It will be understood that in some alternate embodiments, such instructions may be stored, in whole or in part, in any one or more of the memory units illustrated in FIG. 1, e.g., in one or more of the memory 16 of the object detection module 12, the memory 28 of the vehicle control computer 24, the memory 44 of the actuator driver circuit(s) 40 and the memory 64 of the audio/illumination device driver circuit(s) 60, and provided to the at least one processor or controller 14 for execution thereby. In other alternate embodiments, such instructions, wherever stored, may be executed, in whole or in part, by any one or more of the processors or controllers illustrated in FIG. 1, e.g., by one or more of the processors or controllers 14, 26, 42 and 62. For purposes of the following description, the process 700 will be described as being executed by the processor or controller 14, it being understood that the process 700 may alternatively or additionally be executed, in whole or in part, by one or more of the processors or controllers 26, 42, 62.

It will be further understood that the process 700 may be executed using any of the object detection modules 12₁-12₄. In this regard, dashed-line boxes are shown around some of the steps or groups of steps of the process 700 to identify steps which are part of the process 700 when the object detection module 12 is implemented in the form of the object detection module 12₁ or the object detection module 12₂ to include at least one illumination device 112. As will be described below, such steps are illustratively omitted in embodiments in which the object detection module 12 is implemented in the form of the object detection module 12₃ or the object detection module 12₄ which do not include any such illumination devices 112.

The process 700 illustratively begins at step 702 where the processor or controller 14 is operable to determine whether a Key Fob signal has been detected. As described above, the Key Fob signal is illustratively produced by a conventional Key Fob 20 or other mobile electronic device. In some embodiments, the Key Fob signal is received by the communication circuit 30 of the vehicle control computer 24 and passed, processed or unprocessed, to the processor or controller 14. In other embodiments in which the object detection module 12 includes a communication circuit 18, the Key Fob signal may be received directly by the processor or controller 14. In any case, until the Key Fob signal is detected, the process 700 loops back to step 702.

If the Key Fob signal is received by the communication circuit 30 of the vehicle control computer 24, the processor or controller 26 of the vehicle control computer 24 is illustratively operable to decode the received Key Fob signal and determine whether it matches at least one Key Fob code stored in the memory 28. If not, the processor or controller 26 disregards or ignores the Key Fob signal and the process 700 loops back to step 702. Likewise, if the Key Fob signal is received by the communication circuit 18 of the object detection module 12, the processor 14 is similarly operable to determine whether the received Key Fob signal matches at least one Key Fob code stored in the memory 16 or in the memory 28. If not, the process 700 likewise loops back to step 702. Thus, the process 700 advances along the “YES” branch of step 702 only if the received Key Fob signal matches at least one stored Key Fob code, such that the gesture access process proceeds only for authorized users, i.e., only for users carrying a Key Fob 20 that is recognizable by the object detection system 10. It will be understood that some embodiments of the process 700 may not include step 702, and in such embodiments the process 700 begins at step 704.

Following the “YES” branch of step 702 (in embodiments which include step 702), the process 700 advances to step 704 where the processor or controller 14 is operable to monitor the object detection assembly; more specifically, to monitor the radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130 of the respective object detection module 12₁-12₄ for object detection signals produced thereby, if any. In some embodiments, the processor or controller 14 is operable at step 704 to activate the radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130 to begin transmitting radiation following step 702, and in other embodiments the radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130 may already be operating and the processor or controller 14 may be operable at step 704 to begin monitoring the signals being produced by the previously activated radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130.

In any case, following step 704 the processor or controller 14 is operable at step 706 to determine whether any object detection signals have been produced by the radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130 of the respective object detection module 12₁-12₄. If not, then an object has not been detected within the sensing region of the radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130 of the respective object detection module 12₁-12₄. In some embodiments, the process 700 advances from the “NO” branch of step 706 back to the beginning of step 702 as illustrated by example in FIG. 35. In some alternate embodiments, the process 700 may advance from the “NO” branch of step 706 back to the beginning of step 706 such that the process 700 continually checks for an object detection until an object is detected. In such embodiments, a timer or counter may illustratively be implemented such that the process 700 exits the loop of step 706, e.g., by looping back to the beginning of step 702, after a predefined time period has elapsed since detecting the Key Fob signal without thereafter detecting an object. If, at step 706, the signal(s) received from the radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130 of the respective object detection module 12₁-12₄ indicate that an object is detected within the sensing region of thereof, the process 700 proceeds from step 706 along the “YES” branch.

In embodiments in which the object detection module 12 is implemented in the form of the object detection module 12₁ or the object detection module 12₂, the process 700 illustratively includes step 708. Conversely, in embodiments in which the object detection module 12 is implemented in the form of the object detection module 12₃ or the object detection module 12₄, the process 700 does not include step 708. In implementations of the process 700 which include it, step 708 illustratively includes step 710 in which the processor or controller 14 is operable to identify one or more illumination devices 112 to illuminate based on the received object detection (OD) signal(s) produced by the radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130 of the respective object detection module 12₁, 12₂. Thereafter at step 712, the processor or controller 14 is operable to control one or more of the driver circuit(s) DC to illuminate the identified illumination device(s) 112 according to a predefined detection scheme.

In one embodiment, the processor or controller 14 is operable at steps 710 and 712 to identify and illuminate at least one of the illumination devices 112 according to various different detection or illumination schemes. For example, if an object is determined, based on the object detection signals produced by the radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130, to be within the sensing region of the radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130 but within a sub-region of the sensing region that is too small to allow determination by the radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130 and/or by the processor or controller 14 of whether the object within the sensing region exhibits a predefined gesture, the processor or controller 14 is operable to control illumination of the one or more illumination devices 112 according to an “insufficient detection” illumination scheme. In one embodiment in which the object detection module 12₁ or 12₂ includes a plurality of illumination devices in the form of an array 110 extending at least partially across the sensing region as described above with respect to the example illustrated in FIG. 3A, the processor or controller 14 is operable to identify for illumination according to the “insufficient detection” scheme those of the illumination devices 112 which occupy the same or substantially the same sub-region of the sensing region as that occupied by the object, and to control such identified illumination devices 112 to illuminate with a predefined color, e.g., red. Alternatively or additionally, the controller 14 may be operable at step 712 to control the identified illumination devices 112 to illuminate according to the “insufficient detection” scheme by switching on and off at a predefined frequency and/or with a predefined duty cycle, and/or to illuminate only a subset of the illumination devices. In embodiments which include more or fewer illumination devices, the processor or controller 14 may be operable at steps 710 and 712 to control at least one illumination device 112 to illuminate according to the “insufficient detection” illumination scheme by illuminating with at least one of a predefined color, a predefined frequency and a predefined duty cycle.

As another example, if an object is determined, based on the object detection signals produced by the radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130, to be within the sensing region of the radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130 and also within a sub-region of the sensing region in which the radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130 and/or by the processor or controller 14 can determine whether the object therein exhibits a predefined gesture, the processor or controller 14 is operable to control illumination of the one or more illumination devices 112 according to an “object detection” illumination scheme. In one embodiment in which the object detection module 12₁ or 12₂ includes a plurality of illumination devices in the form of an array 110 extending at least partially across the sensing region as described above with respect to the example illustrated in FIG. 4, the processor or controller 14 is operable to identify for illumination according to the “object detection” scheme those of the illumination devices 112 which occupy the same or substantially the same sub-region of the sensing region as that occupied by the object, and to control such identified illumination devices 112 to illuminate with a predefined color that is different from any that may be used in other illumination schemes, e.g., in this case, amber. Alternatively or additionally, the controller 14 may be operable at step 712 to control the identified illumination devices 112 to illuminate according to the “object detection” scheme by switching on and off at a predefined frequency and/or with a predefined duty cycle different from any such predefined frequency and/or duty cycle used in different illumination schemes, and/or to illuminate only a subset of the illumination devices different from any subset used in other illumination schemes. In embodiments which include more or fewer illumination devices, the processor or controller 14 may be operable at steps 710 and 712 to control at least one illumination device 112 to illuminate according to the “object detection” illumination scheme by illuminating with at least one of a predefined color, a predefined frequency and a predefined duty cycle which is/are different that that/those used in other illumination schemes.

In embodiments which include step 708, the process 700 advances from step 712 to step 714, and in embodiments which do not include step 708 the process 700 advances from the “YES” branch of step 706 to step 714. In any case, the processor or controller 14 is operable at step 714 to compare the received object detection signals (OD), i.e., received from the radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130, to one or more vehicle access condition (VAC) values stored in the memory 16 (or the memory 28, 42 and/or 64), and to determine at step 716 whether the VAC is satisfied. In some embodiments, for example, the stored VAC is satisfied if the object detected within a suitable sub-region of the sensing region of the radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130 exhibits a predefined gesture which, when processed by the processor or controller 14 to determine a corresponding vehicle access value, matches the stored VAC as described above. Alternatively or additionally, as also described above, one or more VAC values stored in the memory 16, 28, 42 and/or 64 may be associated in the memory with a corresponding Key Fob code, and in some embodiments multiple VAC values are stored in the memory 16, 28, 42, 64 with each associated with a different Key Fob code. In some such embodiments, vehicle access may be granted only if the combination of the Key Fob code and associated VAC are satisfied.

In embodiments in which the object detection module 12 is implemented in the form of the object detection module 12₁ or the object detection module 12₂, the process 700 illustratively includes step 718 to which the process 700 advances from the “YES” branch of step 716. Conversely, in embodiments in which the object detection module 12 is implemented in the form of the object detection module 12₃ or the object detection module 12₄, the process 700 does not include step 718. In implementations of the process 700 which include it, step 718 illustratively includes step 720 in which the processor or controller 14 is operable to control one or more of the driver circuit(s) DC to illuminate the identified illumination device(s) 112 according to another predefined detection or illumination scheme different from the “insufficient detection” and “object detection” schemes described above. For example, if an object previously determined to be within the sensing region of the radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130 is determined, based on the object detection signals produced by the radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130, to exhibit a predefined gesture as described above, the processor or controller 14 is illustratively operable to control illumination of one or more illumination devices 112 according to an “access grant” illumination scheme. In one embodiment in which the object detection module 12₁ or 12₂ includes a plurality of illumination devices in the form of an array 110 extending at least partially across the sensing region as described above with respect to the example illustrated in FIG. 5, the processor or controller 14 is operable to identify for illumination according to the “access grant” scheme those of the illumination devices 112 which occupy the same or substantially the same sub-region of the sensing region as that occupied by the object, and to control such identified illumination devices 112 to illuminate with a predefined color that is different from any that may be used in other illumination schemes, e.g., in this case, green. Alternatively or additionally, the controller 14 may be operable at step 718 to control the identified illumination devices 112 to illuminate according to the “access grant” scheme by switching on and off at a predefined frequency and/or with a predefined duty cycle different from any such predefined frequency and/or duty cycle used in other illumination schemes, and/or to illuminate only a subset of the illumination devices different from any subset used in other illumination schemes. In embodiments which include more or fewer illumination devices, the processor or controller 14 may be operable at step 718 to control at least one illumination device 112 to illuminate according to the “access grant” illumination scheme by illuminating with at least one of a predefined color, a predefined frequency and a predefined duty cycle which is/are different that that/those used in other illumination schemes.

In embodiments which include step 718, the process 700 advances from step 718 to step 724, and in embodiments which do not include step 718 the process 700 advances from the “YES” branch of step 716 to step 724. In any case, the processor or controller 14 is operable at step 724 to control one or more of the actuator driver circuits 40 to activate one or more corresponding vehicle access actuators 46 in order to actuate one or more corresponding vehicle access closure devices. Examples of such vehicle access closure devices may include, but are not limited to, one or more access closure locks, one or more access closure latches, and the like. At step 724, the processor or controller 14 may be operable to, for example, control at least one lock actuator associated with at least one access closure of the motor vehicle to unlock the access closure from a locked state or condition and/or to lock the access closure from an unlocked state or condition, and/or to control at least one latch actuator associated with at least one access closure of the motor vehicle to at least partially open the access closure from a closed position or condition and/or to close the access closure from an at least partially open position or condition.

In some embodiments, the process 700 may optionally include a step 726 to which the process 700 advances from step 724, as illustrated by dashed-line representation in FIG. 35. In embodiments which include it, the processor or controller 14 is operable at step 724 to control one or more of the audio and/or illumination device driver circuits 60 to activate one or more corresponding audio and/or illumination devices 66 in addition to controlling one or more vehicle access actuators to activate one or more vehicle access devices at step 724 following detection at step 716 of exhibition of a predefined gesture by the object within the sensing region of the radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130. Example audio devices which may be activated at step 726 may include, but are not limited to, the vehicle horn, an audible device configured to emit one or more chirps, beeps, or other audible indicators, or the like. Example illumination devices which may be activated at step 726 in addition to one or more illumination devices 112 (in embodiments which include one or more such illumination devices 112) may include, but are not limited to, one or more existing exterior motor vehicle lights or lighting systems, e.g., headlamp(s), tail lamp(s), running lamp(s), brake lamp(s), side marker lamp(s), or the like, and one or more existing interior motor vehicle lights or lighting systems, e.g., dome lamp, access closure-mounted lamp(s), motor vehicle floor-illumination lamp(s), trunk illumination lamp(s), or the like. In any case, following step 726, or following step 724 in embodiments which do not include step 726, the process 700 illustratively loops back to step 702.

In embodiments in which the object detection module 12 is implemented in the form of the object detection module 12₁ or the object detection module 12₂, the process 700 may illustratively include step 722 to which the process 700 advances from the “NO” branch of step 716. Conversely, in embodiments in which the object detection module 12 is implemented in the form of the object detection module 12₃ or the object detection module 12₄, the process 700 does not include step 72. In implementations of the process 700 which include it, the processor or controller 14 is illustratively operable at step 722 to control one or more of the driver circuit(s) DC to illuminate the identified illumination device(s) 112 according to another predefined detection or illumination scheme different from the “insufficient detection,” “object detection” and “access grant” schemes described above. For example, if an object previously determined to be within the sensing region of the radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130 is determined, based on the object detection signals produced by the radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130, to fail to exhibit a predefined gesture as described above within a predefined time period following execution of step 712, the processor or controller 14 may illustratively be operable to control illumination of one or more illumination devices 112 according to a “fail” illumination scheme. In one embodiment in which the object detection module 12₁ or 12₂ includes a plurality of illumination devices in the form of an array 110 extending at least partially across the sensing region as described above with respect to the example illustrated in FIGS. 3A-5, the processor or controller 14 is operable to identify for illumination according to the “fail” scheme those of the illumination devices 112 which occupy the same or substantially the same sub-region of the sensing region as that occupied by the object, and to control such identified illumination devices 112 to illuminate with a predefined color that is different from any that may be used in other illumination schemes, e.g., in this case, red. Alternatively or additionally, the controller 14 may be operable at step 722 to control the identified illumination devices 112 to illuminate according to the “fail” scheme by switching on and off at a predefined frequency and/or with a predefined duty cycle different from any such predefined frequency and/or duty cycle used in other illumination schemes, and/or to illuminate only a subset of the illumination devices different from any subset used in other illumination schemes. In embodiments which include more or fewer illumination devices, the processor or controller 14 may be operable at step 722 to control at least one illumination device 112 to illuminate according to the “fail” illumination scheme by illuminating with at least one of a predefined color, a predefined frequency and a predefined duty cycle which is/are different that that/those used in other illumination schemes.

Referring now to FIG. 36, a simplified flowchart is shown of a process 800 for selectively providing for (i) gesture access to the motor vehicle, with or without visual feedback, under some operating conditions of the motor vehicle, and (ii) object impact avoidance under other operating conditions of the motor vehicle in or to which at least one object detection module 12 is mounted. Any such object detection module 12 will illustratively be implemented in the form of the object detection module 12₂ and/or the object detection module 12₄, either of which include the radiation emission and detection assembly 130 in the form of at least one radar transmitter 132 and a plurality of radar detectors or receivers 134. In one embodiment, the process 800 is illustratively stored in the at least one memory 16 of the object detection module 12 in the form of instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor or controller 14 of the object detection module 12, cause the at least one processor or controller 14 to execute the corresponding functions. It will be understood that in some alternate embodiments, such instructions may be stored, in whole or in part, in any one or more of the memory units illustrated in FIG. 1, e.g., in one or more of the memory 16 of the object detection module 12, the memory 28 of the vehicle control computer 24, the memory 44 of the actuator driver circuit(s) 40 and the memory 64 of the audio/illumination device driver circuit(s) 60, and provided to the at least one processor or controller 14 for execution thereby. In other alternate embodiments, such instructions, wherever stored, may be executed, in whole or in part, by any one or more of the processors or controllers illustrated in FIG. 1, e.g., by one or more of the processors or controllers 14, 26, 42 and 62. For purposes of the following description, the process 800 will be described as being executed by the processor or controller 14, it being understood that the process 800 may alternatively or additionally be executed, in whole or in part, by one or more of the processors or controllers 26, 42, 62.

The process 800 illustratively begins at step 802 where the processor or controller 14 is operable to determine whether a Key Fob signal has been detected. Illustratively, the processor or controller 14 is operable to execute step 802 as described above with respect to step 702 of the process 700. Thus, the process 800 advances along the “YES” branch of step 802 only if the received Key Fob signal matches at least one stored Key Fob code, such that the process 800 proceeds from step 802 only for authorized users, i.e., only for users carrying a Key Fob 20 that is recognizable by the object detection system 10. It will be understood that some embodiments of the process 800 may not include step 802, and in such embodiments the process 800 begins at step 804.

Following the “YES” branch of step 802 (in embodiments which include step 802), the process 800 advances to step 804 where the processor or controller 14 is operable to monitor one or more of the vehicle operating parameter sensors and/or switches 50 mounted to or within or otherwise carried by the motor vehicle. Illustratively, signals produced by the one or more monitored sensors and/or the status(es) of the one or more switches monitored at step 804 are indicative of an operating condition or state, e.g., engine running or not, and/or of a moving condition or state of the motor vehicle, e.g., motor vehicle stationary, moving, enabled to move, etc. As described above with respect to FIG. 1, examples of such sensors and/or switches 50 may include, but are not limited to, an engine ignition sensor or sensing system, a vehicle speed sensor or sensing system, a transmission gear selector position sensor, sensing system or switch, a transmission gear position sensor, sensing system or switch, vehicle brake sensor, sensing system or switch, and the like. Those skilled in the art will recognize other sensors and/or switches from which an operating condition or state of the motor vehicle may be determined, implied or estimated and/or from which a moving condition or state of the motor vehicle may be determined, implied or estimated, and it will be understood that monitoring of any such other sensors and/or switches at step 804 is intended to fall within the scope of this disclosure.

Following step 804, the process 800 advances to step 806 where the processor or controller 14 is operable to determine a mode based on the monitored vehicle sensor(s) and/or switch(es). Generally, the mode determined by the processor or controller 14 at step 806 is a gesture access (GA) mode if the signal(s) produced by the monitored vehicle sensor(s) and/or the operational state(s) of the monitored switch(es) correspond to a state or condition of the motor vehicle conducive to gesture access operation of the system 10, and is an object impact avoidance (OIA) mode of signal(s) produced by the monitored vehicle sensor(s) and/or the operational state(s) of the monitored switch(es) correspond to a state or condition of the motor vehicle conducive to object impact avoidance operation of the system 10. In the former case, for example, the processor 14 may operate in the gesture access mode if the motor vehicle is stationary and disabled from moving, and in the latter case, for example, the processor 14 may operate in the object impact avoidance mode if the motor vehicle is moving or is enabled to move.

For purposes of this disclosure, the phrase “disabled from moving” should be understood to mean at least that the engine of the motor vehicle may or may not be running and, if the engine is running, that one or more actuators are preventing the motor vehicle from moving in the forward or reverse direction. In some embodiments, for example, an engine ignition switch in the “off” position means that the motor vehicle is disabled from moving, and the processor 14 may be operable at step 806 under such conditions to set mode=GA. In other example embodiments, an engine ignition switch in the “run” or “on” position means that the engine is running, and the processor 14 may be then operable at step 806 under such conditions to determine the status of one or more other vehicle operating parameters such as the transmission selection lever, the vehicle brakes and/or vehicle road speed. In some such embodiments, the processor 14 may be operable at step 806 when the engine is running to set mode=GA if, and as long as, the transmission selection lever is in “park” or otherwise not in a selectable gear (e.g., in the case of a manual transmission) and/or the vehicle brakes are engaged and/or the vehicle speed is zero. The phrase “enabled to move,” on the other hand, should be understood to mean at least that the engine of the motor vehicle has been started, and in some embodiments the processor 14 may be operable at step 806 under conditions in which the engine ignition switch is in the “run” or “on” position to set mode=OIA. In some embodiments in which the processor or controller 14 has determined that the engine has been started, the processor 14 may then be further operable at step 806 to determine the status of at least one other vehicle operating parameter such as the transmission selection lever, the vehicle brakes or vehicle road speed. In some such embodiments, the processor 14 may be operable at step 806 when the engine is running to set mode=OIA if, and as long as, a drive gear (forward or reverse) of the motor vehicle transmission has been selected, and/or the vehicle brakes are disengaged and/or vehicle speed is greater than zero. Those skilled in the art will recognize other vehicle operating parameters which may be used alone, in combination with one or more of the above-described vehicle operating parameters and/or in combination with other vehicle operating parameters to determine when and whether the motor vehicle is disabled from moving or enabled to move, and it will be understood that any such other vehicle operating parameters are intended to fall within the scope of this disclosure. Moreover, those skilled in the art will recognize other vehicle operating conditions conducive to gesture access mode of operation or in which gesture access mode may be safely executed, and it will be understood that the processor or controller 14 may be alternatively configured to set mode=GA at step 806 according to any such other vehicle operating conditions. Further still, those skilled in the art will recognize other vehicle operating conditions conducive to object impact avoidance mode of operation or in which object impact avoidance mode may be safely executed, and it will be understood that the processor or controller 14 may be alternatively configured to set mode=OIA at step 806 according to any such other vehicle operating conditions. It will be appreciated that configuring the processor or controller 14 to set mode=GA or OIA based on any such other vehicle operating conditions will involve only mechanical steps for a skilled programmer.

If, at step 806, the processor or controller 14 has set mode=GA, the process 800 advances to step 808 to execute a GA control process. In some embodiments, the GA control process may be the process 700 illustrated in FIG. 35 and described above. As described above, the process 700 may be executed by or for object detection modules 12₂, i.e., having one or more illumination devices 112, and by or for object detection modules 12₄, i.e., which do not have any illumination devices 112. It will be understood, however, that the process 800 does not specifically require the GA control process 700 illustrated in FIG. 35, and that other gesture access control processes using a radiation emission and detection assembly 130 having at least one radar transmitter and a plurality of radar detectors may therefore be alternatively executed at step 808.

If, at step 806, the processor or controller 14 has set mode=OIA, the process 800 advances to step 810 to execute an OIA control process. An example of one such OIA process is illustrated in FIG. 37 and will be described with respect thereto, although it will be understood that the process 800 does not specifically require the OIA control process illustrated in FIG. 37, and that other object impact avoidance control processes using a radiation emission and detection assembly 130 having at least one radar transmitter and a plurality of radar detectors may therefore be alternatively executed at step 810. In any case, the process 800 illustratively loops back from either of steps 808 and 810 to step 804.

Referring now to FIG. 37, a simplified flowchart is shown of another process 900 for selectively providing for (i) gesture access to the motor vehicle, with or without visual feedback, under some operating conditions of the motor vehicle, and (ii) object impact avoidance under other operating conditions of the motor vehicle in or to which at least one object detection module 12 is mounted. As with the process 800 illustrated in FIG. 36, any such object detection module 12 will illustratively be implemented in the form of the object detection module 12₂ and/or the object detection module 12₄, either of which include the radiation emission and detection assembly 130 in the form of at least one radar transmitter 132 and a plurality of radar detectors or receivers or detectors 134. In one embodiment, the process 900 is illustratively stored in the at least one memory 16 of the object detection module 12 in the form of instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor or controller 14 of the object detection module 12, cause the at least one processor or controller 14 to execute the corresponding functions. It will be understood that in some alternate embodiments, such instructions may be stored, in whole or in part, in any one or more of the memory units illustrated in FIG. 1, e.g., in one or more of the memory 16 of the object detection module 12, the memory 28 of the vehicle control computer 24, the memory 44 of the actuator driver circuit(s) 40 and the memory 64 of the audio/illumination device driver circuit(s) 60, and provided to the at least one processor or controller 14 for execution thereby. In other alternate embodiments, such instructions, wherever stored, may be executed, in whole or in part, by any one or more of the processors or controllers illustrated in FIG. 1, e.g., by one or more of the processors or controllers 14, 26, 42 and 62. For purposes of the following description, the process 800 will be described as being executed by the processor or controller 14, it being understood that the process 900 may alternatively or additionally be executed, in whole or in part, by one or more of the processors or controllers 26, 42, 62.

The process 900 illustratively begins at step 902 where the processor or controller 14 is operable to determine whether a Key Fob signal has been detected. Illustratively, the processor or controller 14 is operable to execute step 902 as described above with respect to step 702 of the process 700. Thus, the process 900 advances along the “YES” branch of step 902 only if the received Key Fob signal matches at least one stored Key Fob code, such that the process 900 proceeds from step 902 only for authorized users, i.e., only for users carrying a Key Fob 20 that is recognizable by the object detection system 10. It will be understood that some embodiments of the process 900 may not include step 902, and in such embodiments the process 900 begins at steps 904 and 906.

Following the “YES” branch of step 902 (in embodiments which include step 902), the process 900 advances to steps 904 and 906. At step 904, the processor 14 is illustratively operable to execute a GA control process. In some embodiments, the GA control process may be the process 700 illustrated in FIG. 35 and described above. As described above, the process 700 may be executed by or for object detection modules 12₂, i.e., having one or more illumination devices 112, and by or for object detection modules 12₄, i.e., which do not have any illumination devices 112. It will be understood, however, that the process 900 does not specifically require the GA control process 700 illustrated in FIG. 35, and that other gesture access control processes using a radiation emission and detection assembly 130 having at least one radar transmitter and a plurality of radar detectors may therefore be alternatively executed at step 904.

At step 906, the processor or controller 14 is operable to determine, e.g., by monitoring the engine ignition switch included in the vehicle sensors/switches 50, whether the engine ignition status IGN is “on” or “running.” If not, the process 900 loops back to the beginning of step 906. Thus, as long as the engine of the motor vehicle is not running, the processor or controller 14 will continue to execute the GA control process at step 904. If, however, the processor or controller 14 determines at step 906 that the engine ignition status IGN is “on” or “running,” thus indicating that the engine of the motor vehicle has been started and is running, the process 900 advances to step 908 where the processor or controller 14 is operable to monitor one or more vehicle sensors and/or switches. Thereafter at step 910, the processor or controller 14 is operable to compare the signal(s) and/or state(s) of the monitored vehicle sensor(s) and/or switch(es) to gesture access (GA) and/or object detection (OD) conditions, and thereafter at step 912 the processor or controller 14 is operable to determine a mode as either gesture access (GA) or object impact avoidance (OIA) based on the comparison. Illustratively, the processor or controller 14 is operable to execute steps 908-912 as described above with respect to step 806 of the process 800.

Following step 912, the processor or controller 14 is illustratively operable to determine whether the mode determined at step 912 is GA or OIA. If GA, the process 900 loops back to the beginning of steps 904 and 906. Thus, with the engine running, as long as the vehicle operating parameters correspond to gesture access operating conditions, the processor or controller 14 will continue to execute the GA control process at step 904. However, if the processor or controller 14 determines at step 914 that the mode determined at step 912 is OIA, the process 900 advances to step 916 where the processor or controller 14 is operable to suspend execution of the GA control process executing at step 904 and to execute an object impact avoidance control process beginning at step 918.

At step 918, the processor or controller 14 is operable to monitor the object detection assembly; more specifically, to monitor the radiation emission and detection assembly 130 of the respective object detection module 12₂, 12₄ for object detection signals produced thereby, if any. Thereafter at step 920, the processor or controller 14 is operable to compare the object detection signal(s) produced by the assembly 130 to one or more object detection parameters (ODP) stored in the memory 16 (and/or stored in the memory 28, 44 or 64). In some embodiments, for example, the one or more stored ODPs is/are satisfied by an object detected anywhere within the distance D2 of the radiation emission and detection assembly 130 as illustrated in FIG. 6B and described above with respect thereto. In such embodiments, the detected object signal(s), when processed by the processor or controller 14 to determine a corresponding object detection value, thus matches at least one of the one or more stored ODPs.

Following step 920, the processor or controller 14 is operable at step 922 to determine whether the one or more stored ODPs has/have been satisfied. If so, the process 900 advances to step 924 where the processor or controller 14 is operable to control one or more of the actuator driver circuits 40 to control one or more corresponding actuators 48 to activate one or more corresponding object avoidance devices, mechanisms and/or systems 50 of the motor vehicle. Examples of such object avoidance devices, mechanisms and/or systems 50 may include, but are not limited to, one or more electronically controllable motor vehicle access closure latches or latching systems, an automatic (i.e., electronically controllable) engine ignition system, an automatic (i.e., electronically controllable) motor vehicle braking system, an automatic (i.e., electronically controllable) motor vehicle steering system, an automated (i.e., electronically controllable) motor vehicle driving system (e.g., “self-driving” or “autonomous driving” system), and the like. Thus, depending upon the location of the object detection module 12 on and relative to the motor vehicle, the processor or controller 14 may execute step 924 by locking one or more electronically controllable access closure latches or latching systems, by automatically turning off the engine ignition system, by activating an electrically controllable motor vehicle braking system to automatically apply braking force to stop or slow the motor vehicle, by controlling an automatic steering system so as to avoid impact with the detected object and/or by controlling an automated vehicle driving system so as to avoid impact with the detected object. Those skilled in the art will recognize other object impact avoidance devices, mechanisms and/or systems which may be controlled at step 924 to avoid or mitigate impact with the detected object, and it will be understood that any such other object impact avoidance devices, mechanism and/or systems are intended to fall within the scope of this disclosure. In any case, the process 900 illustratively loops from step 924 back to the beginning of step 918 so that the processor or controller 14 continues to execute the object impact avoidance control process of steps 918-924 as long as the one or more stored ODP conditions continue to be satisfied.

In some embodiments, the processor or controller 14 may be additionally operable at step 926 to control one or more audio and/or illumination driver circuits 60 to activate one or more corresponding audio devices and/or illumination devices 66. Examples of the one or more audio devices 66 which the processor or controller 14 may activate at step 926 may include, but are not limited to, a vehicle horn, one or more electronically controllable audible warning devices, e.g., in the form of one or more predefined alarm sounds, sequences or the like, one or more electronically controllable audio notification devices or systems, one or more electronically controllable audio voice messaging devices or systems, or the like. Examples of the one or more illumination devices 66 which the processor or controller 14 may activate at step 926 may include, but are not limited to, one or more electronically controllable visible warning devices, one or more exterior vehicle lights, one or more interior vehicle lights, or the like.

If at step 922, the processor or controller 14 determines that the one or more stored ODPs is/are not, or no longer, satisfied, the process 900 advances to step 926 where the processor or controller 14 is operable to control the one or more actuator driver circuits 40 to reset the corresponding one or more actuators 46 activated at step 924. If, at step 924, the process or controller 14 activated one or more audible and/or illumination devices 66, the processor or controller 14 is further operable at step 926 to reset or deactivate such one or more activated audible and/or illumination devices 66. Following step 926, the process 900 loops back to steps 904 and 906 where the processor or controller 14 is operable at step 904 to again execute the GA control process and at steps 906-914 to determine whether to continue to execute the GA control process or whether to again suspend the GA process and execute the OIA process of steps 918-924. It will be understood that if step 924 has not yet been executed prior to determining at step 922 that the ODPs is/are not satisfied, step 926 may be bypassed and the process 900 may proceed directly from the “NO” branch of step 922 to steps 904 and 906.

In some embodiments of the process 800 illustrated in FIG. 36, the OIA control process executed at step 810 thereof may be similar or identical to the OIA control process executed at steps 916-924 of the process 900. In other embodiments of the process 800, the OIA control process executed at step 810 may be or include other OIA control processes as described above.

While some of the foregoing embodiments illustrated in the attached drawings are described above as including at least one illumination device 112 for providing visual feedback during gesture access operation, any of the object detection modules 12 which include at least one illumination device 112 may alternatively include at least one audible device responsive to at least one control signal to produce at least one audible signal. In some such embodiments, at least one audible device may be configured to produce sounds of different volumes and/or frequencies. In other such embodiments, two or more audible devices may be included, each producing sound with a different volume and/or frequency. In any such embodiments, the at least one audible device may be controlled to switch on and off with a predefined frequency and/or duty cycle. In some such embodiments which include multiple audible devices, at least two of the multiple audible devices may be controlled to switch on and off with different frequencies and/or duty cycles.

Referring now to FIG. 38, another embodiment of a gesture access system for a motor vehicle 10′ is shown which includes another embodiment of an object detection module 12′. The gesture access system 10′ is identical in many respects to the object detection system 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 and described above. Components of the system 10′ in common with those of the system 10 are accordingly identified with like reference numbers, and descriptions thereof will be omitted here for brevity, it being understood that the above descriptions of such components apply equally to those of the system 10′ illustrated in FIG. 38.

The system 10′ illustrated in FIG. 38 differs from that of the system 10 in at least three respects; (1) the system 10′ utilizes ultra-wide band (UWB) circuitry and signals to determine the proximity, relative to the motor vehicle, of a UWB circuit-equipped mobile communication device (MCD) 34 known to the system 10′, (2) the system 10′ is operable in a gesture access mode to utilize the same and/or additional UWB circuitry perform object detection for the purpose of evaluating gestures based on emitted 36 and reflected 38 UWB signals and, upon recognition of at least one predetermined gesture, unlocking, locking, automatically opening and/or automatically closing an access closure of a motor vehicle, and (3) the system 10′ is operable only in the gesture access mode if the MCD is determined to be within a perimeter defined about the motor vehicle and is otherwise operable in an inactive mode in which reflected UWB signals are not received or are not acted upon. Such operational features of the system 10′ are described in detail below.

To accomplish the foregoing operational features, the system 10′ illustratively includes a number, M, of conventional ultra-wide band (UWB) signal transceivers 32, where M may by any positive integer. Illustratively, each transceiver 32 operates in the conventional UWB range, e.g., any frequency or frequency range greater than 500 MHz, and is configured to wirelessly transmit and receive UWB signals. In alternate embodiments, one or more of the transceivers 32 may instead be provided in the form of a conventional UWB signal transmitter and a conventional (separate or paired) UWB receiver. In some embodiments, the one or more UWB transceiver(s) is/are operatively (i.e., communicatively, via hardwire and/or wireless connection) connected solely to the vehicle control computer 24 as depicted in FIG. 38 by the solid-line connection. In some alternate embodiments, at least one UWB transceiver 32 is connected solely to, and/or carried solely by, the object detection module 12′ as depicted in FIG. 38 by the dash-line connection 33, and in other alternate embodiments one or more UWB transceiver(s) 32 is/are operatively connected to the vehicle control computer 24 and at least one UWB transceiver is connected to, and/or carried by, the object detection module 12′. It will be understood that any embodiment of the system 10′ may include one or more of the object detection modules 12′, each of which is operatively (i.e., communicatively, via hardwire and/or wireless connection) connected to the vehicle control computer 24 as depicted in FIG. 38 by the solid-line connection 31. Each of the one or more object detection modules 12′ includes, at a minimum, a processor or controller 14 and a memory 16 as described above with respect to FIG. 1. Various example embodiments of the object detection module 12′ are illustrated in FIGS. 40-43 and will be described in detail below.

Referring now to FIG. 39, an example embodiment of the system 10′ of FIG. 38 is shown implemented in a motor vehicle 70. It will be understood that while not all of the components of the system 10′ illustrated in FIG. 38 are shown in FIG. 39, such non-illustrated components are present in the system 10′ of FIG. 39. In the illustrated embodiment, the motor vehicle 70 illustratively has five access closures in the form of two conventional forward vehicle doors 72A, 72B, two rearward vehicle doors 76A, 76B and a conventional rear hatch 80. The forward doors 72A, 72B illustratively each have an access handle 74A, 74B respectively mounted thereto, the rearward doors 76A, 76B each have 72C and 72D each having an access handle 78A, 78B respectively mounted thereto and the rear had 80 has an access handle 82 mounted thereto. In some embodiments, either or both of the rearward doors 76A, 76B may be provided in the form of conventional hinged (i.e., swinging) doors, and in other embodiments either or both of the rearward doors 76A, 76B may be provided in the form of conventional sliding doors which may or may not include power-assisted or power-controlled opening/closing. In other alternate embodiments, either or both of the rearward doors 76A, 76B may be omitted. In some alternate embodiments, the rear hatch 80 may instead by a conventional trunk lid. In either case, the rear hatch or trunk lid 80 may include power-assisted or power-controlled opening and/or closing, and in such cases the motor vehicle 70 includes a power module 84, including at least one drive motor.

The vehicle control computer 24 is suitably mounted in the motor vehicle 70, and is electrically connected to number, N, of object detection modules 12, 12′ as well as to a number, M, of UWB transceivers 32. In this example, the UWB transceivers 32 are operatively connected, e.g., via any number of conventional electrical wires or wirelessly, to the vehicle control computer 24 but not to any of the object detection modules 12, 12′, although in alternate embodiments one or more of the UWB transceivers 32 may alternatively or additionally operatively connected directly, e.g., wired or wirelessly, to a respective one or more of the object detection modules 12, 12′. In the illustrated example, N=5 as an object detection module 12, 12′ is mounted to or near each access handle 74A, 74B, 76A, 76B and 82, although in alternate embodiments more or fewer object detection modules 12, 12′ may be mounted to the motor vehicle 70 at any desired location. Also in the illustrated example, M=8 as eight UWB transceivers 32₁-32₈ are mounted to the motor vehicle 70 at various different locations. For example, a UWB transceiver 32₁ at the front of the vehicle 70, UWB transceivers 32₂-32₆ at each closure 72A, 76A, 80, 76B, 72B respectively, and UWB transceivers 32₇, 32₈ centrally on and along the top of the vehicle 70. In alternate embodiments, more or fewer UWB transceivers 32 may be mounted to the motor vehicle 70 at various locations.

As also illustrated in FIG. 39, the mobile communication device (MCD) 34 illustratively has at least a conventional processor or controller 86 and a UWB transceiver 88. The MCD 34 and the vehicle control computer 24 (and/or one or more of the object detection modules 12, 12′ in some embodiments) are both capable of wirelessly communicating with one another via control of their respective UWB transceivers 32, 88 according to conventional UWB communication protocol. In one embodiment, the MCD 34 is a smart phone equipped with a UWB transceiver 88, although in other embodiments the MCD may be any mobile electronic device equipped with a UWB transceiver 88 and additional circuitry configured to communicate with the vehicle control computer 24 via a conventional UWB communication protocol, such as a key fob or other mobile electronic device carried by or on an operator of the motor vehicle.

In the context of this disclosure, a particular MCD 34 will be capable of UWB communications with a particular vehicle control computer 24 (and/or by the processor/controller 14 of at least one of the object detection modules 12, 12′) of a particular motor vehicle 70 and/or vice versa if the particular MCD 34 and/or component(s) thereof is/are known to the particular vehicle control computer 24 (and/or by the processor/controller 14 of at least one of the object detection modules 12, 12′) and/or if the particular vehicle control computer 24 and/or the motor vehicle 70 itself and/or the processor/controller 14 of at least one of the object detection modules 12, 12′) is/are known to the MCD 34. In the former case, the particular MCD 34 will be, for example, owned by, or otherwise in the possession of, an operator of the motor vehicle 70, and in the latter case the particular motor vehicle 70 (carrying the particular vehicle control computer 24 and/or process/or controller 14 of at least one of the objection detection modules 12, 12′) will be, for example, a motor vehicle 70 for which the owner or possessor of the particular MCD 34 is an operator.

The particular MCD 34 will be known to the vehicle control computer 24 (and/or by the processor/controller 14 of at least one of the object detection modules 12, 12′) of the particular motor vehicle 70 if the two have been previously linked, paired or otherwise configured, in a conventional manner, for UWB communications with the other to the exclusion, with respect to the particular MCD 34, of vehicle control computers 24 of other motor vehicles 70, and to the exclusion, with respect to the particular motor vehicle 70, of other MCD's 34 that have not been previously linked, paired or otherwise configured for UWB communications therewith. It is contemplated that two or more particular MCD's 34 may be so linked, paired or otherwise configured for UWB communications with the vehicle control computer 24 (and/or with the processor/controller 14 of at least one of the object detection modules 12, 12′) of a particular motor vehicle 70, e.g., to accommodate 2^nd, 3^rd, etc. operators of the motor vehicle 70.

In one embodiment, the particular MCD(s) 34 linked, paired or otherwise configured for UWB communications with the particular vehicle control computer 24 (and/or with the processor/controller 14 of at least one of the object detection modules 12, 12′) is/are, as a result of the linking, pairing or configuration process, illustratively operable to thereafter transmit unique identification information as part of, or appended to, UWB signals transmitted by the UWB transceiver(s) 88. Alternatively or additionally, the particular vehicle control computer 24 (and/or the processor/controller 14 of at least one of the object detection modules 12, 12′) linked, paired or otherwise configured for UWB communications with the particular MCD(s) 34 may be, as a result of the linking, pairing or configuration process, thereafter operable to transmit unique identification information as part of, or appended to, UWB signals transmitted by one or more of the UWB transceivers 32. Such identification information may be or include, for example, but not limited to, information identifying the processor/controller 86 of the particular MCD 34, the UWB transceiver 88 of the particular MCD 34, information identifying the particular MCD 34 itself, information identifying the particular vehicle control computer 24 (and/or with the processor/controller 14 of at least one of the object detection modules 12, 12′) of the particular motor vehicle 70, information identifying one or more of the UWB transceivers 32 of the particular motor vehicle 70, information identifying the particular motor vehicle 70 itself, any combination thereof, and/or other identification information unique to the particular MCD 34/motor vehicle 70 pair. In any case, UWB communication, via one or more of the UWB transceivers 32 of a particular motor vehicle 70 and a UWB transceiver 88 of a particular MCD 34, in the context of this disclosure, may only be conducted between the vehicle control computer 24 (and/or the processor/controller 14 of at least one of the object detection modules 12, 12′) of that particular motor vehicle 70 and the processor/controller 14 of that (or those) particular MCD(s) 34 by transmitting by one or the other or both, as part of or along with transmitted UWB signals, unique identification information known to the other resulting from having been previously linked, paired or otherwise configured for UWB communications with one another. In this regard, in the context of the example implementation illustrated in FIG. 39, it will be understood that the MCD 34 (or one or more components thereof) is thus known to the vehicle control computer 24 (and/or to the processor/controller 14 of at least one of the object detection modules 12, 12′) of the illustrated motor vehicle 70 and/or vice versa, having been previously linked, paired or otherwise configured for UWB communications with one another.

Further illustrated in FIG. 39 is a perimeter, P, surrounding the motor vehicle 70, which represents a boundary within which UWB communications between the processor/controller 86 of the MCD 34 and the processor 26 (and/or the processor/controller 14 of at least one of the object detection modules 12, 12′) of the motor vehicle 70 can take place or are permitted to take place, and beyond which such UWB communications cannot take place or are not permitted. Generally, UWB communications has a range of approximately 30 feet. In one embodiment the perimeter, P, accordingly defines approximately a 30 feet boundary about the motor vehicle such that when the MCD 34 is within the perimeter, P, as illustrated by example in FIG. 39, the MCD 34 is generally within UWB communication range of the motor vehicle 70 (and is thus considered to be “in-range”), and when the MCD 34 is beyond or outside of the perimeter, P, the MCD 34 is generally outside of UWB communication range of the motor vehicle 70 (and is thus considered to be “out-of-range”). In this embodiment, the perimeter, P, is thus defined as approximately the boundary of UWB communications between the MCD 34 and the motor vehicle 70. In alternate embodiments, the perimeter P may be defined to be any arbitrary boundary about the motor vehicle 70 (or about any particular one, set or subset of the UWB transceivers 32). In any case, for purposes of this disclosure, when the MCD 34 is determined to be within the perimeter, P, the object detection module(s) 12, 12′ is/are configured to operate in the gesture access mode, and when the MCD 34 is otherwise determined to be beyond or outside of the perimeter, P, the object detection module(s) 12, 12′ is/are configured to operate in the inactive mode, as these modes are briefly described above. In this regard, a convenient perimeter, P, is approximately the communication range of the UWB transceivers 32, 88, although alternate perimeters are contemplated as described above. Moreover, in some alternate embodiments, the perimeter, P, may be defined only by and about one or a subset of the total set of UWB transceivers 32, and/or the perimeter, P, may not be smooth as illustrated by example in FIG. 39, but may instead be non-smoothly formed by piecewise, intersecting segments.

Referring now to FIG. 40, one example embodiment 12′₁ is shown of the object detection module 12′ illustrated in FIG. 38. In the illustrated embodiment, the object detection module 12′₁ includes an embodiment 14′₁ of the at least one processor or controller 14 as well as an embodiment 16′₁ of the at least one memory unit 16, as illustrated in FIG. 38. As described hereinabove, it will be understood that the terms “processor” and “controller” used in this disclosure is comprehensive of any computer, processor, microchip processor, integrated circuit, or any other element(s), whether singly or in multiple parts, capable of carrying programming for performing the functions specified in the claims and this written description. The at least one processor or controller 14′₁ may be a single such element which is resident on a printed circuit board with the other elements of the inventive access system. It may, alternatively, reside remotely from the other elements of the system. For example, but without limitation, the at least one processor or controller 14′₁ may take the form of a physical processor or controller on-board the object detection module 12′₁. Alternately or additionally, the at least one processor or controller 14′₁ may be or include programming in the at least one processor or controller 26 of the vehicle control computer 24 illustrated in FIG. 38. Alternatively or additionally still, the at least one processor or controller 14′₁ may be or include programming in the at least one processor or controller 42 of the actuator driver circuit(s) 40 and/or in the at least one processor or controller 62 of the audio/illumination device driver circuit(s) 60 and/or in at least one processor or controller residing in any location within the motor vehicle in which the system 10′ is located. For instance, and without limitation, it is contemplated that one or more operations associated with one or more functions of the object detection module 12′₁ described herein may be carried out, i.e., executed, by a first microprocessor and/or other control circuit(s) on-board the object detection module 12′₁, while one or more operations associated with one or more other functions of the object detection module 12′₁ described herein may be carried out, i.e., executed, by a second microprocessor and/or other circuit(s) remote from the object detection module 12′₁, e.g., such as the processor or controller 26 on-board the vehicle control computer 24.

The example object detection module 12′₁ illustrated in FIG. 40 further illustratively includes number N of conventional supporting circuits (SC) 114₁-114_N, wherein N may be any positive integer. The supporting circuit(s) (SC) is/are each electrically connected to the processor or controller 14′₁, and may include one or more conventional circuits configured to support the operation of the processor or controller 14′₁ as described above with respect to FIGS. 2, 6A, 7 and 8. Example supporting circuits SC may include, but are not limited to, one or more voltage supply regulation circuits, one or more capacitors, one or more resistors, one or more inductors, one or more oscillator circuits, and the like. In embodiments in which one or more of the UWB transceivers 32 is/are operatively connected to the object detection module 12′₁, the supporting circuits SC may further include conventional circuitry for conditioning or otherwise pre-processing signals produced by the UWB transceiver(s) 32 and fed directly or sent by the control computer 24 to the object detection module 12′₁ or, in embodiments in which UWB transceiver signals are sent wireless to the object detection module 12′₁ by the UWB transceiver(s) 32 and/or the control computer 24, the supporting circuits SC may further include conventional circuitry for wirelessly receiving the UWB transceiver signals. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 40, the at least one processor or controller 14′₁ and the supporting/driver circuits 114₁-114_N are all mounted to a conventional circuit substrate 116′ which is illustratively mounted within a housing 118′.

In the example embodiment 12′₁ illustrated in FIG. 40, the UWB transceiver(s) of the system 10′ are external to the object detection module 12′₁ and is/are illustratively mounted to the motor vehicle, e.g., as illustrated by example in FIG. 39. In one implementation of this embodiment, the memory device(s) 16′₁ illustratively has/have instructions stored therein executable by the processor(s) or controller(s) 14′₁ to process signals produced by the UWB transceiver(s) 32 to operate in the gesture access or inactive mode as described above, depending upon whether a known mobile communication device 34 is determined, as described above, to be within or outside of the perimeter P, e.g., within or out of UWB signal communication range. In some such implementations, the UWB transceiver signals may be raw or conditioned transceiver signals sent by the UWB transceiver(s) 32 or the control computer 24. In such implementations the memory device(s) 16′₁ includes instructions stored therein executable by the processor(s) or controller(s) 14′₁ to process such UWB signals to determine time difference values each between a different one of a plurality of UWB activation signals, i.e., control signals produced by the control computer 24 or the processor(s)/controller(s) 14′₁ to cause the UWB transceiver(s) 32 to emit one or more UWB radiation signals outwardly away from the motor vehicle, and a respective UWB radiation detection signal, i.e., a UWB radiation signal reflected by an object back toward and detected by the respective UWB transceiver 32, as described hereinabove with respect to the system 10. If operating in the gesture access mode, as briefly described above and as will be described in greater detail below, the at least one memory device 16′₁ further has stored therein instructions executable by the at least one processor or controller 14′₁ to process a plurality of successive ones of the time difference values to determine whether an object is within the sensing region of the respective UWB transceiver 32 (wherein the sensing region is as described above with respect to the system 10) and to determine whether the object within the sensing region of the respective UWB transceiver 32 is exhibiting a predefined gesture (also as described above with respect to the system 10). The predefined gesture is illustratively stored in the memory device(s) 16′₁ in the form of a predefined sequence of time difference values or other suitable form. If operating in the inactive mode, as briefly described above and as will be described in greater detail below, the at least one memory device 16′₁ further has instructions stored therein executable by the at least one processor or controller 14′₁ to not act on, i.e., ignore, UWB radiation detection signals if received directly from the UWB transceiver(s) 32 and/or from the control computer 24 in any form. In some alternate embodiments in which the object detection module 12′₁ receives the UWB detection signals from the control computer 24, the control computer 24 may be configured to withhold, i.e., to not send or transmit, the UWB detection signals to the object detection module 12′₁ when operating in the inactive mode, and in such embodiments the object detection module 12′₁ does not receive UWB detection signals when operating in the inactive mode. In some alternate implementations, the UWB transceiver signals may be processed by the control computer 24 to determine the time difference values, and to then send or transmit the UWB transceiver activation and reflection signals to the object detection module 12′₁ in the form of a plurality of time difference values, and the instructions stored in the memory device(s) 16′₁ include instructions executable by the processor(s) or controller(s) 14′₁ to process the received time difference values as just described.

Referring now to FIG. 41, another one example embodiment 12′₂ is shown of the object detection module 12′ illustrated in FIG. 38. In the illustrated embodiment, the object detection module 12′₂ includes an embodiment 14′₂ of the at least one processor or controller 14 as well as an embodiment 16′₂ of the at least one memory unit 16, wherein the terms “processor” and “controller” are as described above with respect to the embodiment 12′₁ of the object detection module 12′. The object detection module 12′₂ further illustratively includes number N of conventional supporting circuits (SC) 114₁-114_N and driver circuits (DC) operatively connected to the at least one processor 14′₂, wherein N may be any positive integer. The supporting circuit(s) (SC) may be as described above with respect to the embodiment 12′₁ of the object detection module 12′. In the example embodiment 12′₂ illustrated in FIG. 41, the UWB transceiver(s) of the system 10′ are, like the embodiment 12′₁, external to the object detection module 12′₂ and is/are illustratively mounted to the motor vehicle, e.g., as illustrated by example in FIG. 39.

The embodiment of the object detection module 12′₂ illustrated in FIG. 41 further includes one or more illumination devices 112. In some embodiments which include a plurality of illumination devices 112, the illumination devices 112 may be spaced apart at least partially across the sensing region of the nearest UWB transceiver(s) 32, and in other embodiments the illumination devices 112 may be positioned remotely from the sensing region. In some embodiments, the illumination devices 112 may be arranged in the form of a linear or non-linear array 110 of equally or non-equally spaced-apart illumination devices. In some embodiments, the at least one illumination device 112 includes at least one LED configured to emit radiation in the visible spectrum. In such embodiments, the at least one LED may be configured to produce visible light in a single color or in multiple colors. In alternate embodiments, the plurality of illumination sources may include one or more conventional non-LED illumination sources.

The one or more illumination devices 112 is/are illustratively included to provide visual feedback of one or more conditions relating to detection of an object within a sensing region of the UWB transceiver(s) 32. In one example embodiment, two illumination devices 112 may be provided for producing the desired visual feedback. In one implementation of this example embodiment, a first one of the illumination devices 112 may be configured and controlled to illuminate with a first color to visibly indicate the detected presence of an object within the sensing region, and the second illumination device 112 may be configured and controlled to illuminate with a second color, different from the first, to visibly indicate that the detected object exhibits a predefined gesture. In another example embodiment, three illumination devices 112 may be provided. In this embodiment, a first one of the illumination devices 112 may be controlled to illuminate with a first color to visibly indicate the detected presence of an object within an area of the sensing region in which it is not possible to determine whether the detected object exhibits a predefined gesture (e.g., the object may be within a sub-region of the sensing region which is too small to allow determination of whether the object exhibits the predefined gesture), a second one of the illumination devices 112 is controlled to illuminate with a second color to visibly indicate the detected presence of an object within an area of the sensing region in which it is possible to determine whether the detected object exhibits a predefined gesture, and a third one of the illumination devices is controlled to illuminate with a third color to visibly indicate that the object within the sensing region is exhibiting a predefined gesture.

In other embodiments, the one or more illumination devices 112 may include any number of illumination devices. Multiple illumination devices 112, for example, may be illuminated in one or more colors to provide a desired visual feedback. In any such embodiments, in one or more illumination devices 112 may be LEDs, and one or more such LEDs may illustratively be provided in the form of RGB LEDs capable of illumination in more than one color. According to this variant, it will be appreciated that positive visual indication of various states of operation may be carried out in numerous different colors, with each such color indicative of a different state of operation of the object detection module 12′₂. As one non-limiting example, the color red may serve to indicate detection of an object (e.g., a hand or foot) within a portion of the sensing region in which it cannot be determined whether the detected object is exhibiting a predefined gesture. The color green, in contrast, may serve to indicate that the detected object is exhibiting a predefined gesture and, consequently, that the predefined vehicle command associated with that predefined gesture (e.g., unlocking the vehicle closure, opening the vehicle closure, etc.) is being effected. In addition to green, other colors might be uniquely associated with different predefined commands. Thus, while green illumination might reflect that a closure for the vehicle is being unlocked, blue illumination, for example, may reflect that a fuel door latch has been opened, purple illumination may reflect that a window is being opened, etc.

In still other embodiments, in addition to or alternatively to color distinction, different operating modes, i.e., different detection or operating modes may be visually distinguished from one another by controlling the at least one illumination device 112 to switch on and off with different respective frequencies and/or duty cycles. In some embodiments which include multiple illumination devices 112, the different detection or operating modes may be additionally or alternatively distinguished visually from one another by activating different subsets of the multiple illumination devices 112 for different operating or detection modes, and/or by sequentially activating the multiple illumination devices 112 or subsets thereof with different respective activation frequencies and/or duty cycles. In any case, the output(s) of the driver circuit(s) (DC) is/are operatively connected to the one or more illumination devices 112 as illustrated by example in FIG. 41. The one or more driver circuits DC may illustratively be or include any conventional circuits for driving, i.e., actuating, the one or more illumination devices 112.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 41, the at least one processor or controller 14′₂, the supporting/driver circuits 114₁-114_N and the one or more illumination devices 112 are all mounted to a conventional circuit substrate 116′ which is illustratively mounted within a housing 118′. In alternate embodiments, the circuit substrate 116′ may be provided in the form of two or more separate circuit substrates, and in such embodiments one or more of the illumination devices 112, the at least one processor or controller 14′₂ and the supporting/driver circuits 114₁-114_N may be mounted to a first one of the two or more circuit substrates and remaining one(s) of the one or more of the illumination devices 112, the at least one processor or controller 14′₂ and the supporting/driver circuits 114₁-114_N may be mounted to other(s) of the two or more circuit substrates. In some such embodiments, all such circuit substrates may be mounted to and/or within a single housing 118′, and in other embodiments at least one of the two or more of the circuit substrates may be mounted to and/or within the housing 118′ and one or more others of the two or more circuit substrates may be mounted to or within one or more other housings. In embodiments which the object detection module 12′₂ includes multiple housings, two or more such housings may be mounted to the motor vehicle at or near a single location, and in other embodiments at least one of the multiple housings may be mounted to the motor vehicle at a first location and at least another of the multiple housings may be mounted to the motor vehicle at a second location remote from the first location.

In one implementation of the embodiment 12′₂ illustrated in FIG. 41, the memory device(s) 16′₂ illustratively has/have instructions stored therein executable by the processor(s) or controller(s) 14′₂ to process signals produced by the UWB transceiver(s) 32 to operate in the gesture access or inactive mode, according to any of the different ways described above with respect to the embodiment 12′₁, depending upon whether a known mobile communication device 34 is determined, as described above, to be within or outside of the perimeter P, e.g., within or out of UWB signal communication range. Additionally in this embodiment, the memory device(s) 16′₂ further illustratively has/have instructions stored therein executable by the processor(s) or controller(s) 14′₂ to control the illumination device(s) 112 according to any of the different ways just described.

Referring now to FIG. 42, yet another example embodiment 12′₃ is shown of the object detection module 12′ illustrated in FIG. 38. In the illustrated embodiment, the object detection module 12′₃ includes an embodiment 12′₃ of the at least one processor or controller 14 as well as an embodiment 12′₃ of the at least one memory unit 16, wherein the terms “processor” and “controller” are as described above with respect to the embodiment 12′₁ of the object detection module 12′. As with the example object detection module 12′₁ illustrated in FIG. 40, the object detection module 12′₃ further illustratively includes number N of conventional supporting circuits (SC) 114₁-114_N operatively connected to the at least one processor 12′₃, wherein N may be any positive integer. The supporting circuit(s) (SC) may be as described above with respect to the embodiment 12′₁ of the object detection module 12′.

In the example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 42, the object detection module 12′₃ illustratively includes a number, M, of UWB transceivers 100′, where M many be any positive integer. In some embodiments, the motor vehicle may also include any number of the UWB transceivers 32, e.g., as illustrated by example in FIG. 39, and in other embodiments the motor vehicle may not include any UWB transceivers 32 such that all of the UWB transceivers carried by the motor vehicle is/are that/those included with the one or more object detection modules 12′₃. In any case, the UWB transceiver(s) 100′ may be as described above with respect to the UWB transceivers 32.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 42, the at least one processor or controller 12′₃, the supporting/driver circuits 114₁-114_N and the one or more UWB transceivers 100′ are all mounted to a conventional circuit substrate 116′ which is illustratively mounted within a housing 118′. In alternate embodiments, the circuit substrate 116′ may be provided in the form of two or more separate circuit substrates, and in such embodiments one or more of the UWB transceiver(s) 100′, the at least one processor or controller 12′₃ and the supporting/driver circuits 114₁-114_N may be mounted to a first one of the two or more circuit substrates and remaining one(s) of the one or more of the UWB transceiver(s) 100′, the at least one processor or controller 12′₃ and the supporting/driver circuits 114₁-114_N may be mounted to other(s) of the two or more circuit substrates. In one example of this alternate embodiment, which should not be considered to be limiting in any way, the UWB transceiver(s) 100′ may all be mounted to a one substrate and the remaining components may be mounted to a separate substrate. In any such embodiments, all such circuit substrates may be mounted to and/or within a single housing 118′, and in other embodiments at least one of the two or more of the circuit substrates may be mounted to and/or within the housing 118′ and one or more others of the two or more circuit substrates may be mounted to or within one or more other housings. In embodiments which the object detection module 12′₃ includes multiple housings, two or more such housings may be mounted to the motor vehicle at or near a single location, and in other embodiments at least one of the multiple housings may be mounted to the motor vehicle at a first location and at least another of the multiple housings may be mounted to the motor vehicle at a second location remote from the first location.

In embodiments in which one or more UWB transceivers 32 is/are mounted to the motor vehicle in addition to the one or more UWB transceivers 100′, and as illustrated by example in FIG. 39, the memory device(s) 12′₃ illustratively has/have instructions stored therein executable by the processor(s) or controller(s) 12′₃ to control activation of the one or more UWB transceivers 100′ and to process corresponding reflected UWB radiation signals, i.e., reflected by an object, to operate in the gesture access or inactive mode as described above, depending upon whether a known mobile communication device 34 is determined, either by the control computer 24 via the UWB transceivers 32 or by the processor(s)/controller(s) 12′₃ via the UWB transceiver(s) 32 and/or via the UWB transceiver(s) 100′, to be within or outside of the perimeter P, e.g., within or out of UWB signal communication range. In other embodiments in which no UWB transceivers 32 is/are mounted to the motor vehicle, the memory device(s) 12′₃ illustratively has/have instructions stored therein executable by the processor(s) or controller(s) 12′₃ to control activation of the one or more UWB transceivers 100′ and to process corresponding reflected UWB radiation signals to operate in the gesture access or inactive mode as described above, depending upon whether a known mobile communication device 34 is determined, by the processor(s)/controller(s) 12′₃ via the UWB transceiver(s) 100′, to be within or outside of the perimeter P.

Referring now to FIG. 43, still another example embodiment 12′₄ is shown of the object detection module 12′ illustrated in FIG. 38. In the illustrated embodiment, the object detection module 12′₄ includes an embodiment 14′₄ of the at least one processor or controller 14 as well as an embodiment 16′₄ of the at least one memory unit 16, wherein the terms “processor” and “controller” are as described above with respect to the embodiment 12′₁ of the object detection module 12′. As with the example object detection module 12′₂ illustrated in FIG. 41, the object detection module 12′₄ further illustratively includes number N of conventional supporting circuits (SC) 114₁-114_N and driver circuits (DC) operatively connected to the at least one processor 14′₄, wherein N may be any positive integer. The supporting circuit(s) (SC) and driver circuits (DC) may be as described above.

In the example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 43, the object detection module 12′₄ illustratively includes a number, M, of UWB transceivers 100′, where M many be any positive integer, where the UWB transceivers 100′ may be as described above. In some embodiments, the motor vehicle may also include any number of the UWB transceivers 32, e.g., as illustrated by example in FIG. 39, and in other embodiments the motor vehicle may not include any UWB transceivers 32 such that all of the UWB transceivers carried by the motor vehicle is/are that/those included with the one or more object detection modules 12′₄. Also in the example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 43, the object detection module 12′₄ further includes one or more illumination device 112 operatively connected to the one or more driver circuits (DC). The one or more illumination devices may take any of the forms, and be controlled to operate, as described above with respect to the embodiment 12′₂ illustrated in FIG. 41.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 43, the at least one processor or controller 14′₄, the supporting/driver circuits 114₁-114_N, the one or more UWB transceivers 100′ and the one or more illumination devices 112 are all mounted to a conventional circuit substrate 116′ which is illustratively mounted within a housing 118′. In alternate embodiments, the circuit substrate 116′ may be provided in the form of two or more separate circuit substrates, and in such embodiments one or more of the UWB transceiver(s) 100′, the one or more illumination devices 112, the at least one processor or controller 14′₄ and the supporting/driver circuits 114₁-114_N may be mounted to a first one of the two or more circuit substrates and remaining one(s) of the one or more of the UWB transceiver(s) 100′, the one or more illumination devices 112, the at least one processor or controller 14′₄ and the supporting/driver circuits 114₁-114_N may be mounted to other(s) of the two or more circuit substrates. In such embodiments, all such circuit substrates may be mounted to and/or within a single housing 118′, and in other embodiments at least one of the two or more of the circuit substrates may be mounted to and/or within the housing 118′ and one or more others of the two or more circuit substrates may be mounted to or within one or more other housings. In embodiments which the object detection module 12′₄ includes multiple housings, two or more such housings may be mounted to the motor vehicle at or near a single location, and in other embodiments at least one of the multiple housings may be mounted to the motor vehicle at a first location and at least another of the multiple housings may be mounted to the motor vehicle at a second location remote from the first location.

In embodiments in which one or more UWB transceivers 32 is/are mounted to the motor vehicle in addition to the one or more UWB transceivers 100′, and as illustrated by example in FIG. 39, the memory device(s) 16′₄ illustratively has/have instructions stored therein executable by the processor(s) or controller(s) 14′₄ to control activation of the one or more UWB transceivers 100′ and to process corresponding reflected UWB radiation signals, i.e., reflected by an object, to operate in the gesture access or inactive mode as described above, depending upon whether a known mobile communication device 34 is determined, either by the control computer 24 via the UWB transceivers 32 or by the processor(s)/controller(s) 14′₄ via the UWB transceiver(s) 32 and/or via the UWB transceiver(s) 100′, to be within or outside of the perimeter P, e.g., within or out of UWB signal communication range, and to control operation, i.e., activation and deactivation, of the one or more illumination devices 112 as described above with respect to the object detection module 12′₂ illustrated in FIG. 41. In other embodiments in which no UWB transceivers 32 is/are mounted to the motor vehicle, the memory device(s) 16′₄ illustratively has/have instructions stored therein executable by the processor(s) or controller(s) 14′₄ to control activation of the one or more UWB transceivers 100′ and to process corresponding reflected UWB radiation signals to operate in the gesture access or inactive mode as described above, depending upon whether a known mobile communication device 34 is determined, by the processor(s)/controller(s) 14′₄ via the UWB transceiver(s) 100′, to be within or outside of the perimeter P, and to control operation, i.e., activation and deactivation, of the one or more illumination devices 112 as described above with respect to the object detection module 12′₂ illustrated in FIG. 41.

Referring now to FIG. 44, a simplified flowchart is shown of a process 930 for determining whether a known mobile communication device (MCD) 34, i.e., known to the control computer 24 of the motor vehicle and/or to the at least one processor or controller 14 of one or more object detection modules 12′ mounted to the motor vehicle, is within our outside of the perimeter, P, illustrated by example in FIG. 39. An MCD 34 will be known to the control computer 24 of the motor vehicle and/or to the at least one processor or controller 14 of one or more object detection modules 12′ mounted to the motor vehicle if, as described above with respect to FIG. 39, the MCD 34 has been previously paired, linked or otherwise configured in a conventional manner for UWB communications with the control computer 24 and/or with the at least one processor or controller 14 of one or more object detection modules 12′ to the exclusion, with respect to the particular MCD 34, of vehicle control computers 24 and/or object detection modules 12′ of other motor vehicles, and to the exclusion, with respect to the control computer 24 of the particular motor vehicle, of other MCD's 34 that have not been previously linked, paired or otherwise configured for UWB communications therewith. In any case, the at least one processor or controller 26 of the vehicle control computer 24, or in some embodiments, the at least one processor or controller 14 of one or more of the object detection modules 12′, is configured to produce a mobile device status signal (MDSS) having a state or value which depends on whether the particular MCD 34 is within or outside of the perimeter P.

In the example process 930 illustrated in FIG. 44, the perimeter, P, is illustratively implemented in the form of a communication boundary defined by the range of UWB signal communications, i.e., within the perimeter, P, the UWB transceiver 88 of a known MCD 34 is within UWB communication range of one or more of the UWB transceivers 32 mounted to the motor vehicle and/or the UWB transceiver 100′ of one or more object detection modules 12′ mounted to the motor vehicle, and outside of the perimeter, P, the UWB transceiver 88 is outside of UWB communication range with the transceivers 32, 100′. The actual range of UWB signal communications, and thus the boundary, P, defined thereby, illustratively depends on a number of factors including, for example, but not limited to, the actual UWB frequency or frequencies used, the signal strengths implemented in the UWB transceivers 34 and 88, battery charge level (in the case of the MCD 34), and the environment in which the motor vehicle is located (e.g., in a garage or other indoor location vs. outside, in an open area vs. crowded parking garage, etc.). It will be understood that whereas the process 930 illustrated in FIG. 44 will be described with respect to the perimeter, P, being defined as the boundary of UWB signal communications as just described, other perimeters, based on one or more additional or alternative criteria, may alternatively be defined and implemented in the process 930.

In embodiments in which the control computer 24 of the motor vehicle is configured to determine the proximity thereto of a known MCD 34, the process 930 is illustratively stored in the at least one memory 28 of the vehicle control computer 24 in the form of instructions executable by the at least one processor or controller 26 of the vehicle control computer 24 to cause the at least one processor or controller 26 to execute the corresponding functions. In other embodiments in which the at least one processor or controller 14 of one or more of the object detection modules 12′ mounted to the motor vehicle is configured to determine the proximity thereto of a known MCD 34, the process 930 is illustratively stored in the at least one memory 16 of one or more of the object detection modules 12′ in the form of instructions executable by the at least one processor or controller 14 thereof to cause the at least one processor or controller 14 to execute the corresponding functions. It will be understood that in some alternate embodiments, such instructions may be stored, in whole or in part, in any one or more of the memory units illustrated in FIG. 38, e.g., in one or more of the memory 44 of the actuator driver circuit(s) 40 and the memory 64 of the audio/illumination device driver circuit(s) 60, and executed, in whole or in part, by any one or more of the processors or controllers illustrated in FIG. 38. For purposes of the following description, the process 930 will be described as being executed by the at least one processor or controller 26 of the vehicle control computer 24, it being understood that the process 930 may alternatively or additionally be executed, in whole or in part, by one or more of the processors or controllers 14, 42, 62.

The process 930 illustratively begins at step 932 where the processor or controller 26 is operable to determine whether an in-range mobile communication device (MCD) 34, i.e., an MCD 34 known to the processor or controller 26, has been detected. In some embodiments, the processor or controller 86 of an MCD 34 is configured to continually or periodically initiate or attempt UWB communications with a vehicle control computer 24 known to it by activating the UWB transceiver 88 to emit one or more UWB radiation signals and then waiting for a time period to determine whether a matching or otherwise expected return UWB radiation signal, emitted by one or more UWB transceivers 32 under the control of a vehicle control computer 24 known to the MCD 34, is received by the UWB transceiver 88. In alternate embodiments, the processor or controller 26 of a vehicle control computer 24 is configured to continually or periodically initiate or attempt UWB communications with an MCD 34 known to it by activating one or more of the UWB transceivers 32 to emit one or more UWB radiation signals and then waiting for a time period to determine whether a matching or otherwise expected return UWB radiation signal, emitted by the UWB transceiver 88 under the control of a processor or controller 86 of an MCD 34 known to the processor or controller 26 of a vehicle control computer 24, is received by one or more of the UWB transceivers 32. In any case, until such and in-range MCD 34 is detected, the process 930 loops back to step 932. Upon detection of such an in-range MCD 34, the process 930 advances to step 934 where the at least one processor or controller 26 of the vehicle control computer 24 is operable to produce and transmit to the at least one processor or controller 14 of one or more of the object detection modules 12′ the mobile device status signal, MDSS, having a state or value corresponding to detection of the mobile communication device 34, e.g., corresponding to the known MCD 34 being within the perimeter, P, defined about the motor vehicle 70 as illustrated by example in FIG. 39. This state of the MDSS signal may illustratively be any signal that notifies the at least one processor or controller 14 of one or more of the object detection modules 12′ of an in-range MCD 34, examples of which include, but are not limited to, one or more analog signals, one or more analog or digital flags, one or more digital data values, or the like.

Following step 934, the processor or controller 26 is operable at step 936 to determine whether the previously in-range mobile communication device (MCD) 34 is now out of range. As long as the in-range MCD 34 remains in-range, i.e., remains within the perimeter P illustrated in FIG. 39, the processor or controller 86 of the in-range MCD 34 and the at least one processor or controller 26 of the corresponding vehicle control computer 24 continue to exchange UWB communication signals, i.e., by continually or periodically activating the respective UWB transceiver 88 and one or more UWB transmitters 32 and then waiting for corresponding time periods for return UWB signals emitted by the other, and in this manner the at least one processor or controller 26 of the vehicle control computer 24 is configured to determine whether an MCD 34 detected as being in-range remains in-range. As long as this is the case, the process 930 loops back on step 936. If/when the at least one processor or controller 26 of the corresponding vehicle control computer 24 no longer receives return UWB radiation signals emitted by the MCD 34 within an expected time period following activation of one or more of the UWB transceivers 32, and/or following a predefined number of such attempts, the at least one processor or controller 26 of the vehicle control computer 24 determines that the previously in-range MCD 34 is now out of range, the process 930 advances to step 938 where the at least one processor or controller 26 of the vehicle control computer 24 is operable to produce and transmit to the at least one processor or controller 14 of one or more of the object detection modules 12′ the mobile device status signal, MDSS, having a state or value corresponding to an out-of-range mobile communication device 34, e.g., corresponding to the known MCD 34 being outside of the perimeter, P, defined about the motor vehicle 70 as illustrated by example in FIG. 39. This state of the MDSS signal may illustratively be any signal that notifies the at least one processor or controller 14 of one or more of the object detection modules 12′ of a now out-of-range MCD 34, examples of which include, but are not limited to, one or more analog signals, one or more analog or digital flags, one or more digital data values, or the like. Following step 938, the process 930 illustratively loops back to step 932. It will be understood that in embodiments in which the at least one processor or controller 14 of one or more of the object detection modules 12′ is configured to determine the proximity of a known MCD 34 to the motor vehicle as described above, the at least one processor or controller 14 is configured to produce the MDSS signal but need not “transmit” the MDSS signal elsewhere unless it is to another object detection module 12′.

Referring now to FIG. 45, a simplified flowchart is shown of a process 940 for determining whether one or more of the object detection modules 12, 12′ is/are to operate in the gesture access mode or the inactive mode, as these modes are described above. In the illustrated embodiment, the determination of whether to operate in the gesture access mode or the inactive mode is dependent upon the outcome of the process 930 illustrated in FIG. 44, i.e., whether the known mobile communication device (MCD) 34, i.e., known to the control computer 24 of the motor vehicle and/or to the at least one processor or controller 14 of one or more object detection modules 12′ mounted to the motor vehicle, is within our outside of the perimeter, P, illustrated by example in FIG. 39, and is thus dependent upon the state or value of the module device status signal (MDSS) produced by the at least one processor 26 of the vehicle control computer 24 (or in some alternate embodiments, produced by the at least one processor or controller 14 of one or more of the object detection modules 12′ mounted to the motor vehicle). In alternate embodiments, notification of whether a known MCD 34 is within or outside of the perimeter, P, defined about the motor vehicle, e.g., is in-range or out-of-range for UWB signal communications, may be generated by the MCD 34 or by another processor or controller mounted to the motor vehicle.

The process 940 is illustratively stored in the at least one memory 16 of one or more of the object detection modules 12′ in the form of instructions executable by the at least one processor or controller 14 thereof to cause the at least one processor or controller 14 to execute the corresponding functions. It will be understood that in some alternate embodiments, such instructions may be stored, in whole or in part, in any one or more of the memory units illustrated in FIG. 38, e.g., in one or more of the memory 44 of the actuator driver circuit(s) 40 and the memory 64 of the audio/illumination device driver circuit(s) 60, and executed, in whole or in part, by any one or more of the processors or controllers illustrated in FIG. 38. For purposes of the following description, the process 940 will be described as being executed by the at least one processor or controller 14 of the one or more of the object detection modules 12′, it being understood that the process 940 may alternatively or additionally be executed, in whole or in part, by one or more of the processors or controllers 26, 42, 62.

The process 940 illustratively begins at step 942 where the at least one processor or controller 14 is operable to determine whether a mobile device detection signal has been received; that is, whether the mobile device status signal (MDSS) produced and transmitted to the at least one processor or controller 14 by the processor 26 of the vehicle control computer 24 corresponds to detection of a known MCD 34 within the perimeter, P, defined about the motor vehicle in which the one or more object detection modules 12′ is/are mounted, e.g., whether the MDSS signal corresponds to detection of an in-range, known MCD 34. If not, the process 940 follows the “NO” branch of step 942 and advances to steps 944 and 946 where the processor or controller 14 enters an INACTIVE operating mode in which the processor or controller 14 deactivates the corresponding object detection module 12′. In some embodiments, the processor or controller 14 is operable at step 946 to produce and transmit one or more control signals to the remaining object detection modules 12′ mounted to the motor vehicle to which the processors or controllers 14 thereof are responsive to deactivate the respective one of those object detection modules 12′. In some alternate embodiments, such one or more control signals may be transmitted to the vehicle control computer 24 which, in turn, transmits such one or more control signals to the remaining object detection modules 12′ to which the processors or controllers 14 thereof are responsive to deactivate the respective one of those object detection modules 12′. In any such embodiments, the processor(s) or controller(s) 14 of the one or more object detection modules 12′ is/are illustratively operable to “deactivate” the one or more object detection modules 12′ by any conventional process or technique which causes the processor or controller 14 thereof to ignore or otherwise not act upon any reflected UWB radiation signals received from one or more UWB transceivers 32 or from any other source (e.g., from the vehicle control computer 24), or in any other form, e.g., time difference signals received from the vehicle control computer 24 or from any other source. In alternate embodiments in which one or more of the object detection modules 12′ includes at least one UWB transceiver 100′ as described above, the processor(s) or controller(s) 14 of such one or more object detection modules 12′ is/are illustratively operable to “deactivate” their respective object detection modules 12′ by not activating the respective UWB transceivers 100′ for purposes of granting gesture access to a closure of the motor vehicle, i.e., so that no UWB radiation signals will be emitted by any UWB transceiver 100′ and ergo no reflected UWB radiation signals will be detected thereby. In any case, following step 946, the process 940 illustratively loops back to step 942.

If, at step 942, the most recent MDSS signal received corresponds to detection of an in-range and known MCD 34, the process 940 advances to steps 948 and 950 where the processor or controller 14 enters a GESTURE ACCESS operating mode to execute a gesture access control process. An example implementation of the gesture access control process is illustrated in FIG. 46 and will be described in detail below. Following step 950, the process 942 illustratively advances to step 952 where the processor or controller 14 continues to monitor the mobile device status signal (MDSS). As long as the MDSS signal continues to correspond to in-range detection of the known MCD 34, the process 940 loops back to the beginning of step 952. At some point, e.g., when the possessor of the in-range MCD 34 exits the motor vehicle and advances beyond the perimeter P defined about the motor vehicle, the processor or controller 26 of the vehicle control computer 24 (or, in some embodiments, the processor or controller 14 of one or more of the object detection modules 12′) changes the mobile device status signal (MDSS) produced and transmitted thereby to a state or value corresponding to the previously in-range MCD 34 now being out of range, i.e., beyond perimeter P. When this occurs, the processor or controller 14 of the one or more object detection modules 12′ is responsive to the now out of range MDSS state or value to loop from the “NO” branch of step 952 to steps 944 and 946 where the processor or controller 14 enters the INACTIVE mode described above.

Referring now to FIG. 46, a simplified flowchart is shown of an embodiment of a gesture access control process 960 that may be executed at step 950 of the process 940 illustrated in FIG. 45. The process 960 is illustratively stored in the at least one memory 16 of one or more of the object detection modules 12′ in the form of instructions executable by the at least one processor or controller 14 thereof to cause the at least one processor or controller 14 to execute the corresponding functions. It will be understood that in some alternate embodiments, such instructions may be stored, in whole or in part, in any one or more of the memory units illustrated in FIG. 38, e.g., in one or more of the memory 28 of the vehicle control computer 24, the memory 44 of the actuator driver circuit(s) 40 and the memory 64 of the audio/illumination device driver circuit(s) 60, and executed, in whole or in part, by any one or more of the processors or controllers illustrated in FIG. 38. For purposes of the following description, the process 960 will be described as being executed by the at least one processor or controller 14 of the one or more of the object detection modules 12′, it being understood that the process 960 may alternatively or additionally be executed, in whole or in part, by one or more of the processors or controllers 26, 42, 62. For purposes of the following description, the process 960 will be described as being executed by the processor or controller 14, it being understood that the process 960 may alternatively or additionally be executed, in whole or in part, by one or more of the processors or controllers 26, 42, 62.

The process 960 is illustratively executed by any one or more, or all, of the object detection modules 12, 12′ mounted to the motor vehicle, e.g., any of the object detection modules 12, 12′ mounted to the motor vehicle in the example illustrated in FIG. 39. In this regard, decisions and commands made or generated by the processor or controller 14 of one object detection module 12, 12′ may be communicated to others of the object detection modules 12, 12′ so that the processors or controllers 14 of such other object detection modules 12, 12′ can act on the same decisions and/or carry out the same commands. It will be understood that some embodiments of the object detection module 12, 12′ may not include one or more components of other object detection modules 12, 12′. In this regard, dashed-line boxes are illustratively shown around some of the steps or groups of steps of the process 960 to identify steps which are part of the process 960 when the object detection module 12′ includes at least one illumination device 112. With the exception of step 986, such steps are illustratively omitted in embodiments in which the object detection module 12′ does not include any such illumination devices 112.

The process 960 illustratively begins at step 962. In some embodiments of the object detection module(s) 12′, the processor or controller 14 is operable at step 962 to activate one or more of the UWB transceivers 32 to emit UWB radiation and to then monitor the one or more UWB transceivers 32 for detection of reflected UWB radiation signals. In other embodiments, the object detection module(s) 12, 12′ may include(s) one or more object detection transceivers, e.g., 102, 104 or 132, 134 in the case of the object detection module(s) 12, and 100′ in the case of the object detection module(s) 12′, and in such embodiments the processor or controller 14 may be operable at step 962 to activate one or more of the transmitter(s) 102, 132 or transceiver(s) 100′ to emit radiation and to monitor the one or more transmitter(s) 104, 134 or transceivers 100′ for detection of reflected radiation signals. In still other embodiments, the UWB transceivers 32 are activated, i.e., to emit UWB radiation, by operation of the processor or controller 26 of the vehicle control computer 24 or other processor/controller, and in such embodiments the processor or controller 14 is operable to receive the timing or other indicator of UWB transceiver activation from the processor or controller 26 or other processor/controller, and to then monitor for reflected UWB radiation signals. In some such embodiments, the processor or controller 14 of the object detection module(s) 12′ is operable at step 962 to monitor the one or more UWB transceivers 32 directly for reflected UWB radiation signals, and in other embodiments the processor or controller 14 is operable to monitor the vehicle control computer 24 or other processor/controller to receive the from the control computer 24 or other processor/controller the reflected UWB radiation signals received thereby. In some embodiments, the reflected UWB radiation signals received from the control computer 24 or other processor/controller are the raw or pre-conditioned transceiver signals, and in other embodiments the reflected UWB radiation signals are received from the control computer 24 or other processor/controller in the form of timing, relative to the timing of transceiver activation, of receipt by the control computer 24 or other processor/controller of the reflected UWB radiation signals. In the latter case, the processor or controller 14 may receive the UWB transceiver information in the form of timing values of each of the UWB transceiver activation signals and the corresponding reflected UWB radiation signals, or in the form of time difference values each corresponding to a difference between a UWB transceiver activation signal and receipt of a corresponding reflected UWB radiation signal. In any case, the process 960 advances from step 962 to step 964 where the processor or controller 14 is operable to determine whether reflected radiation signals, e.g., in any of the forms described above, have been received. If not, the process 960 loops back to the beginning of step 964.

In embodiments in which the object detection module 12, 12′ includes one or more illumination devices, the process 960 illustratively includes step 966 to which the process 960 advances following the “YES” branch of step 964. In other embodiments in which the object detection module 12, 12′ does not include one or more illumination devices 112, the process 960 does not include step 966 and the process 960 advances from the “YES” branch of step 964 to step 972. If included, step 966 illustratively includes step 968 in which the processor or controller 14 is operable to identify one or more illumination devices 112 to illuminate based on the received object detection (OD) signal(s) produced by the radiation emission and detection assembly 100, 130 in the case of object detection module(s) 12 or based on reflected UWB radiation signals received, in any of the forms described above, from one or more of the UWB transceivers 32 in the case of object detection module(s) 12′. Thereafter at step 970, the processor or controller 14 is operable to control one or more of the driver circuit(s) DC to illuminate the identified illumination device(s) 112 according to a predefined detection scheme. The predefined detection scheme may illustratively take any of the forms described above with respect to step 708 of the process 700 illustrated in FIG. 35.

Following step 966, in embodiments which include step 966, and otherwise following the “YES” branch of step 964, the processor or controller 14 is operable at steps 972, 974 and 976 to process (at step 972) the activation and reflected radiation signals, as these signals are described above with respect to step 962, to compare (at step 974) the processed signals to one or more vehicle access condition (VAC) values stored in the memory 16 (or the memory 28, 42 and/or 64), and to then determine (at step 976) whether VAC is satisfied. In some embodiments, the processor or controller 14 is operable to process the activation and reflected radiation signals to determine time difference values between the activation and reflected radiation signals if not already provided in this form to the processor or controller 14, e.g., by the processor or controller 26 of the vehicle control computer 24 and/or by another processor or controller, and in such embodiments the stored VAC value(s) illustratively correspond to a predetermined sequence or other collection of time difference values suitable for comparison with the time difference values determined by the processor or controller 14 based on the activation and reflected radiation signals. In other embodiments, the processor or controller 14 may be operable to process the activation and reflected radiation signals according to one or more alternate signal processing strategies, and in such embodiments the stored VAC value(s) illustratively correspond to a predetermined sequence or other collection of like signals and/or values suitable for comparison with the processed signals and/or values determined by the processor or controller 14 based on the activation and reflected radiation signals.

If, at step 976, the processor or controller 14 determines that, resulting from comparison of the processed activation and reflected radiation signals with the stored VAC value(s), VAC is not satisfied; that is, the processed activation and reflected radiation signals do not match the stored VAC value(s), the process 960 illustratively advances to step 978 where the processor or controller 14 is operable to determine whether a time limit has been exceeded. In some embodiments, the time limit at step 978 is a stored time limit within which the processor or controller 14 is expected to execute steps 972-976. In alternate embodiments, the time limit may be a dynamic time limit determined by the processor or controller 14 as a function of any of one or more operating conditions within the system 10′, one or more components of the system 10′ and/or one or more environmental or other conditions external to the system 10′. In any case, if the processor or controller 14 determines at step 978 that the time limit has not been exceeded, the process 960 illustratively loops back to step 966, in embodiments which include step 966, or to step 972 in embodiments which do not include step 966, to process additional activation and reflected radiation signals.

In embodiments in which the object detection module 12, 12′ includes one or more illumination devices, the process 960 illustratively includes step 980 to which the process 960 advances following the “YES” branch of step 978, i.e., if the processor or controller determines at step 978 that the time limit has been exceeded. In such embodiments, the processor or controller 14 is illustratively operable at step 980 operable to control one or more illumination devices 112, e.g., as described above, to illuminate based on a predetermined, i.e., stored, fail scheme, wherein the processed activation and reflected radiation signals are determined by the processor or controller 14, to fail to exhibit a predefined gesture as described above within the predefined time period following the first execution of step 972. The fail scheme may illustratively take any of the forms described above with respect to step 722 of the process 700 illustrated in FIG. 35.

If, at step 976, the processor or controller 14 determines that, resulting from comparison of the processed activation and reflected radiation signals with the stored VAC value(s), VAC is satisfied; that is, the processed activation and reflected radiation signals match the stored VAC value(s), the process 960 illustratively advances to step 984 where the processor or controller 14 is operable to control one or more of the actuator driver circuits 40 to activate one or more corresponding vehicle access actuators 46 in order to actuate one or more corresponding vehicle access closure devices. Examples of such vehicle access closure devices may include, but are not limited to, one or more access closure locks, one or more access closure latches, and the like. At step 984, the processor or controller 14 may be operable to, for example, control at least one lock actuator associated with at least one access closure of the motor vehicle to unlock the access closure from a locked state or condition and/or to lock the access closure from an unlocked state or condition, and/or to control at least one latch actuator associated with at least one access closure of the motor vehicle to at least partially open the access closure from a closed position or condition and/or to close the access closure from an at least partially open position or condition. In some embodiments, the processor or controller 14 of each of the object detection modules 12, 12′ mounted to the motor vehicle may execute the process 960, or at least some portion(s) thereof, and in such embodiments the processor or controller 14 of each object detection module 12, 12′ may, at step 984, control at least one actuator driver circuit 40 to activate the one of the vehicle access actuators 46 associated therewith. In alternate embodiments, the processor or controller 14 of any of the object detection modules 12, 12′ that executes step 984 may communicate a vehicle access actuation command to the processor(s) or controller(s) 14 of other object detection modules 12, 12′ mounted to the motor vehicle.

In embodiments in which the object detection module 12, 12′ includes one or more illumination devices 112, the process 960 may further include step 982 which may be executed prior to step 984 or along with step 984. In such embodiments, the processor or controller 14 is illustratively operable to control one or more of illumination devices 112, e.g., via control of one or more of the driver circuit(s) DC, according to an “access grant” illumination scheme. Illustratively, the “access grant” illumination scheme may take any of the forms described above with respect to step 720 of the process 700 illustrated in FIG. 35.

In some embodiments, the process 960 may optionally include a step 986 to which the process 960 advances from step 984, as illustrated by dashed-line representation in FIG. 46. In embodiments which include it, the processor or controller 14 is illustratively operable at step 724 to control one or more of the audio and/or illumination device driver circuits 60 to activate one or more corresponding audio and/or illumination devices 66 in addition to controlling one or more vehicle access actuators to activate one or more vehicle access devices at step 984 following detection at step 976 of exhibition of a predefined gesture by the object within the sensing region of at least one of the radiation transceivers. Example audio devices which may be activated at step 986 may include, but are not limited to, the vehicle horn, an audible device configured to emit one or more chirps, beeps, or other audible indicators, or the like. Example illumination devices which may be activated at step 986, in addition to one or more of the illumination devices 112 (in embodiments which include one or more such illumination devices 112) or in any embodiment instead of one or more of the illumination devices 112, may include, but are not limited to, one or more existing exterior motor vehicle lights or lighting systems, e.g., headlamp(s), tail lamp(s), running lamp(s), brake lamp(s), side marker lamp(s), or the like, and one or more existing interior motor vehicle lights or lighting systems, e.g., dome lamp, access closure-mounted lamp(s), motor vehicle floor-illumination lamp(s), trunk illumination lamp(s), or the like. In any case, following step 986, or following step 984 in embodiments which do not include step 986, the process 960 illustratively returns to the process 940 illustrated in FIG. 45.

While this disclosure has been illustrated and described in detail in the foregoing drawings and description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only illustrative embodiments thereof have been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of this disclosure are desired to be protected. Obviously, many modifications and variations of this disclosure are possible in light of the above teachings, and it is to be understood that the various features described herein may be practiced in any combination whether or not specifically recited in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A gesture access system for a motor vehicle, comprising: at least one ultra wide band (UWB) transceiver configured to be mounted to the motor vehicle, the at least one UWB transceiver responsive to activation signals to emit UWB radiation signals outwardly away from the motor vehicle, and to produce UWB radiation detection signals, the UWB radiation detection signals including at least one reflected UWB radiation signal upon reflection of at least one of the emitted UWB radiation signals by an object toward and detected by the at least one UWB transceiver,at least one processor, andat least one memory having instructions stored therein executable by the at least one processor to cause the at least one processor to: monitor a mobile device status signal produced by a control computer of the motor vehicle or by the at least one processor based on a determination by the control computer or the at least one processor of a proximity, relative to the motor vehicle, of a mobile communication device known to the control computer or to the at least one processor,in response to the mobile device status signal corresponding to the known mobile communication device being within a perimeter defined about the motor vehicle, operate in a gesture access mode by processing the activation and UWB radiation detection signals to determine whether an object is within a sensing region of the at least one UWB transceiver and, upon determining that the object is within the sensing region, controlling at least one actuator associated with an access closure of the motor vehicle to lock, unlock, open or close the access closure in response to the object within the sensing region exhibiting a predefined gesture, andin response to the mobile device status signal corresponding to the known mobile communication device being beyond the perimeter defined about the motor vehicle, operate in an inactive mode wherein the at least one processor does not receive or does not act on UWB radiation detection signals.

2. The gesture access system of claim 1, wherein the at least one UWB transceiver is operatively coupled to the control computer, wherein the control computer produces the activation signals and receives the radiation detection signals from the at least one UWB transceiver,and wherein the at least one processor receives the activation and UWB radiation detection signals from the control computer,and wherein the instructions stored in the at least one memory include instructions executable by the at least one processor to determine a plurality of time difference values each corresponding to a time difference between a different one of the activation signals and a respective one of the UWB radiation detection signals, and to determine, based on plurality of time difference values, whether an object is within a sensing region of the at least one UWB transceiver and whether the object within the sensing region is exhibiting the predefined gesture.

3. The gesture access system of claim 2, wherein the control computer is configured to determine a plurality of time difference values each corresponding to a time difference between a different one of the activation signals and a respective one of the UWB radiation detection signals, and wherein at least one processor receives the activation and UWB radiation detection signals from the control computer in the form of the time difference values,and wherein the instructions stored in the at least one memory include instructions executable by the at least one processor to determine, based on plurality of time difference values, whether an object is within a sensing region of the at least one UWB transceiver and whether the object within the sensing region is exhibiting the predefined gesture.

4. The gesture access system of claim 1, wherein the at least one UWB transceiver is operatively coupled to the at least one processor, and wherein the at least one processor produces the activation signals and receives the radiation detection signals from the at least one UWB transceiver,and wherein the instructions stored in the at least one memory include instructions executable by the at least one processor to determine a plurality of time difference values each corresponding to a time difference between a different one of the activation signals and a respective one of the UWB radiation detection signals, and to determine, based on plurality of time difference values, whether an object is within a sensing region of the at least one UWB transceiver and whether the object within the sensing region is exhibiting the predefined gesture.

5. The gesture access system of claim 1, further comprising a housing configured to be mounted to the motor vehicle, wherein the at least one processor and the at least one memory are mounted within the housing.

6. The gesture access system of claim 5, wherein the at least one UWB transceiver is mounted within the housing and operatively coupled to the at least one processor, and wherein the at least one processor produces the activation signals and receives the radiation detection signals from the at least one UWB transceiver.

7. The gesture access system of claim 5, wherein the housing is mounted to or carried by a door handle assembly configured to be mounted to an access closure of the motor vehicle.

8. The gesture access system of claim 1, further comprising at least one of an illumination device configured to be mounted to the motor vehicle and responsive to activation thereof to produce light visible from outside the motor vehicle and an audio device configured to be mounted to the motor vehicle and responsive to activation thereof to produce one or more audible signals, wherein the at least one processor is operatively coupled to the at least one of the illumination device and the audio device,and wherein the at least one memory has instructions stored therein executable by the at least one processor to cause the at least one processor to activate the at least one of the illumination device and the audio device according to a first activation scheme in response to determining the object is within the sensing region of the at least one UWB transceiver.

9. The gesture access system of claim 8, wherein the at least one memory has instructions stored therein executable by the at least one processor to cause the at least one processor to, in response to the object within the sensing region exhibiting the predefined gesture, activate the at least one of the illumination device and the audio device according to a second activation scheme different from the first activation scheme.

10. The gesture access system of claim 9, further comprising the illumination device in the form of at least one illumination device, and wherein the first and second activation schemes are first and second illumination schemes respectively.

11. The gesture access system of claim 10, wherein the at least one illumination device comprises at least one multi-color LED, and wherein the instructions stored in the at least one memory further include instructions executable by the at least one processor to cause the at least one processor to activate the at least one illumination device according to the first illumination scheme by controlling the at least one multi-color LED to emit visible light of a first color, and to activate the at least one illumination device according to the second illumination scheme by controlling the at least one multi-color LED to emit visible light of a second color different from the first color.

12. The gesture access system of claim 10, wherein the instructions stored in the at least one memory further include instructions executable by the at least one processor to cause the at least one processor to activate the at least one illumination device according to the first illumination scheme by controlling the at least one illumination device to switch on and off with at least one of a first frequency and a first duty cycle, and to activate the at least one illumination device according to the second illumination scheme by controlling the at least one illumination device to switch on and off with at least one of a second frequency different from the first frequency and a second duty cycle different from the first duty cycle.

13. The gesture access system of claim 10, wherein the at least one illumination device comprises a plurality of illumination devices, and wherein the instructions stored in the at least one memory further include instructions executable by the at least one processor to cause the at least one processor to activate the at least one illumination device according to the first illumination scheme by controlling at least a first one of the plurality of illumination devices to illuminate, and to activate the at least one illumination device according to the second illumination scheme by controlling at least a second one of the plurality of illumination devices, different from the at least the first one of the plurality of illumination devices, to illuminate.

14. The gesture access system of claim 1, further comprising at least one of an illumination device configured to be mounted to the motor vehicle and responsive to activation thereof to produce light visible from outside the motor vehicle and an audio device configured to be mounted to the motor vehicle and responsive to activation thereof to produce one or more audible signals, wherein the at least one processor is operatively coupled to the at least one of the illumination device and the audio device,and wherein the at least one memory has instructions stored therein executable by the at least one processor to cause the at least one processor to activate the at least one of the illumination device and the audio device in response to the object within the sensing region of the at least one UWB transceiver exhibiting the predefined gesture.

15. The gesture access system of claim 1, wherein the control computer or the at least one processor is configured to determine the proximity, relative to the motor vehicle, of the known mobile communication device by interacting with the known mobile communication device via the least one UWB transceiver and another UWB transceiver carried by the known mobile communication device, and wherein the control computer or the at least one processor is configured to produce the mobile device status signal corresponding to the known mobile communication device being within the perimeter defined about the motor vehicle in response to the mobile communication device being within a predefined communication range of the at least one UWB transceiver and the another UWB transceiver, and to produce the mobile device status signal corresponding to the known mobile communication device being outside of the perimeter defined about the motor vehicle in response to the known mobile communication device being outside of the predefined communication range of the at least one UWB transceiver and the another UWB transceiver.

16. A gesture access system for a motor vehicle, comprising: at least one ultra wide band (UWB) transceiver configured to be mounted to the motor vehicle, the at least one UWB transceiver responsive to activation signals to emit UWB radiation signals outwardly away from the motor vehicle, and to produce UWB radiation detection signals, the UWB radiation detection signals including at least one reflected UWB radiation signal upon reflection of at least one of the emitted UWB radiation signals by an object toward and detected by the at least one UWB transceiver,at least one processor, andat least one memory having instructions stored therein executable by the at least one processor to cause the at least one processor to be operable in either of (i) a gesture access mode to control an actuator associated with an access closure of the motor vehicle to lock, unlock, open or close the access closure in response to an object within a sensing region of the at least one UWB transceiver exhibiting a predefined gesture, and (ii) an inactive mode in wherein the at least one processor does not receive or does not act on UWB radiation detection signals,the at least one memory further having instructions stored therein executable by the at least one processor to cause the at least one processor to operate in the gesture access mode upon determining by the control computer or the at least one processor that a mobile communication device known to the control computer or the at least one processor is within a perimeter defined about the motor vehicle, and to cause the at least one processor to operate in the inactive mode upon determining by the control computer or the at least one processor that the known mobile communication device is outside of a perimeter defined about the motor vehicle.

17. The gesture access system of claim 16, wherein the control computer or the at least one processor is configured to determine the proximity, relative to the motor vehicle, of the known mobile communication device by interacting with the known mobile communication device via the least one UWB transceiver and another UWB transceiver carried by the known mobile communication device, and wherein the control computer or the at least one processor is configured to operate in the gesture access mode in response to the mobile communication device being within a predefined communication range of the at least one UWB transceiver and the another UWB transceiver, and to operate in the inactive mode in response to the known mobile communication device being outside of the predefined communication range of the at least one UWB transceiver and the another UWB transceiver.

18. The gesture access system of claim 16, further comprising at least one of an illumination device configured to be mounted to the motor vehicle and responsive to activation thereof to produce light visible from outside the motor vehicle and an audio device configured to be mounted to the motor vehicle and responsive to activation thereof to produce one or more audible signals, wherein the at least one processor is operatively coupled to the at least one of the illumination device and the audio device,and wherein the at least one memory has instructions stored therein executable by the at least one processor to cause the at least one processor to activate the at least one of the illumination device and the audio device in response to the object within the sensing region of the at least one UWB transceiver exhibiting the predefined gesture.

19. The gesture access system of claim 18, further comprising the illumination device in the form of at least one multi-color LED, and wherein the instructions stored in the at least one memory further include instructions executable by the at least one processor to cause the at least one processor to activate the at least one illumination device by controlling the at least one multi-color LED to emit visible light of at least one color.

20. The gesture access system of claim 18, further comprising the at least one illumination device in the form of a plurality of illumination devices, and wherein the instructions stored in the at least one memory further include instructions executable by the at least one processor to cause the at least one processor to activate the at least one illumination device according to the first illumination scheme by controlling one or more of the plurality of illumination devices to illuminate.