Patent Application
20130113614
The present disclosure in general relates to vehicle safety measures, and in particular relates to vehicle environment visualization.
Conventionally, vehicles employ monitoring systems to aid the driver in avoiding obstacles, such as objects in close proximity to the vehicle. These systems may be based on ultrasonic, radar, laser, or vision technologies for various applications such as aiding parking and reversing, lane departure, lane-keeping and adaptive cruise control.
A vehicle environment monitoring system usually consists of one or more sensors, at least one display, and a controller. The sensors are placed at appropriate locations on the vehicle. The display is usually disposed where the driver can see it. The controller processes data received from the sensors and presents that data on the display screen. Optionally, the controller also actuates an alarm when the data indicate a predefined emergency condition. The display screen is necessarily somewhat small, however, and the images displayed there can be difficult to see in any detail. Moreover, the images are often not true to scale, given the generally wide-angle optics employed. While these displays do provide information for what objects are present around the vehicle, the occupants of the vehicle must estimate some distances such as door opening clearance. Such estimates are by necessity difficult.
Door clearance is an important parameter for facilitating comfortable entry into and exit from the vehicle. In addition, some persons, such as elderly or disabled persons, require a relatively large “door clearance”, in comparison to the clearance required for a child, for example. Also, a vehicle equipped with a single door on the side of a vehicle generally requires a larger door clearance than a vehicle equipped with two doors per side. Further, inclement weather, such as snow, can blur or obliterate parking lines, making it all the more difficult to estimate the door clearance zone.
Thus, there is a need for a vehicle environment visualization system that not only detects the door clearance zone but also actuates an alarm in case of an emergency.
To overcome the aforesaid challenges, the present disclosure proposes a vehicle environment estimation and visualization system. Instead of the driver having to estimate the door opening clearance around the vehicle, the system projects a door opening clearance zone around the vehicle.
One aspect of the disclosure presents a vehicle door clearance zone projection system. That system includes one or more sensors configured to provide sensor output signals indicative of a distance between the sensors and any nearby object. Signals from the sensors are processed by a controller, operatively coupled to the sensors and employing stored data describing the clearance around the vehicle required for the vehicle doors. The controller receives receive the sensor output signals and from them it determines whether a detected nearby object lies within a predetermined door clearance zone. If an object is detected with the door clearance zone, the controller actuates an alarm.
Another aspect of the disclosure presents a vehicle door clearance zone projection system. That system includes one or more sensors configured to provide sensor output signals indicative of a distance between the sensors and any nearby object. Signals from the sensors are processed by a controller, operatively coupled to the sensors and employing stored data describing the clearance around the vehicle required for the vehicle doors. The controller receives receive the sensor output signals and from them it determines whether a detected nearby object lies within a predetermined door clearance zone, and it convert the sensor output signals into controller output signals adapted to serve as input to a visual display. The visual display receives the visual display signals and projects a door clearance zone lying at a predetermined distance from the vehicle, onto the visual display.
Yet another aspect of the disclosure is a method for detecting an obstacle within a vehicle door clearance zone. That method begins by generating a detection signal using one or more sensors, and those signals employ the detection signal to capture the vehicle environment data. That data is sent to a controller, which selects a preset value for the door clearance zone. The controller then analyzes the captured data to determine whether an obstacle lies in the door clearance zone, and it actuates an alarm upon detecting an obstacle in the door clearance zone.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will be better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The summary has been provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form. The summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the present invention and appended claims.
The figures described below set out and illustrate a number of exemplary embodiments of the disclosure. Throughout the drawings, like reference numerals refer to identical or functionally similar elements. The drawings are illustrative in nature and are not drawn to scale.
The following detailed description is made with reference to the figures. Exemplary embodiments are described to illustrate the subject matter of the disclosure, not to limit its scope, which is defined by the appended claims.
In general, the present disclosure described a vehicle door clearance zone projection system with a warning mechanism for vehicle occupants. To this end, the system includes one or more sensors and a controller. The one or more sensors provide output signals indicative of a distance between the one or more sensors and a nearby object. The controller is coupled with the one or more sensors, receives the sensor output signals, determines whether a detected nearby object lies within a predetermined door clearance zone, and actuates an alarm upon detecting an object within the door clearance zone. In addition, the controller may include stored data related to the clearance required for vehicle doors.
As used herein, the term “door clearance zone” describes the space swept by a vehicle door during opening and closing. A vehicle thus has one door clearance zone for each door. This term is illustrated in
The sensors 110, 110′ are disposed at various locations of the vehicle, designed to capture' data sufficient to warn users about objects lying within the vehicle's door clearance zones. In general, sensors 110, 110′ fall into two broad categories. In one embodiment, sensors provide a visual picture of the vehicle's surroundings, either in part or in full. In such systems, the sensors are cameras, positioned to provide a view of the entire area around a vehicle, or a critical portion of that area. Cameras can be video devices, still cameras, or high definition cameras. Conventional back-up assist systems employ such sensors or cameras.
Alternatively, sensors can provide only warning information regarding the proximity of an obstacle. For example, a sensor 100 could be an ultrasonic device providing data indicating an obstacle, either by distance or direction, or both. A range of technologies can be adapted for such sensors, including ultrasound, radar, or lasers.
In either event, the sensors 110, 110′ may be stationary or may rotate in various directions to sweep desired areas around the vehicle. For example, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the sensors 110, 110′ may be mounted on, or actuated by, motorized rotating mechanisms, such as stepper motors, to actuate the desired movement. Multiple rotational means may be provided to rotate a sensor in multiple directions. One embodiment features rotation on two axes, one back and forth in a direction parallel to the vehicle's longitudinal axis, and the other up and down. Designers will be capable of identifying the areas desired to be swept and appropriate mechanisms for actuating the sensors to perform that task. Alternative technologies for implementing the sensors 110, 110′ include radar and laser devices. If a visual system is employed, the camera device could be positioned high on the vehicle, and wide-angle lenses could minimize the need for camera movement.
The sensors 110, 110″ transmit sensor signals to the controller 130. This device can be a microprocessor-based controller having capability for inputs and outputs, as well as a communication bus, storage capacity, such as RAM or ROM, and some degree of processing capability. The controller 130 may be a stand-alone controller independent from the vehicle's power-train control module (PCM) or it may be integrated with the PCM system. In another embodiment, the controller 130 is in communication with Electronic Control Module (ECM).
The controller 130 outputs visual display signals to visual display 120. That display can be a screen-based display such as an LCD, LED, or CRT display, or it may be implemented as a Head's Up Display (HUD) overlaying the forward vision of the driver 140 through the vehicle windshield. Any other known display mechanisms are also contemplated by the present disclosure. Operation details of the visual display 120 are set out in detail below.
Some embodiments add an audio alert device 150. That device functions as an alarm, actuated by controller 130. In such embodiments, the system goes beyond merely displaying an obstacle within a door clearance zone, to actively warn the user that a danger condition exists. The audio alert device 150, for example, may indicate a danger condition by sounding a pre-recorded warning or a siren or a combination thereof
Referring to
The location of all door clearance zones for a given vehicle is stored in controller 130. For a given vehicle, the location and extent of door clearance zones will not vary over time. Thus, controller 130 can completely store the locations of all door clearance zones 210, along with the data required to generate an image of the vehicle 101. Further details of controller 130 and the associated data are set out below.
The embodiment of the present disclosure are illustrated in
In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the system may associate different audible tones for different doors. Thus, for example, an obstruction inside the door clearance zone of the front left hand door would result in a first tone, while obstruction inside door clearance zone of the front right hand door 220 would produce a second tone, and so. The different choices may be preset, or they may be configurable, and differences could be selected as differences in pitch, content, or number of repetitions. Those of ordinary skill in the art will be capable of selecting and implementing this feature as desired.
Although the actual size of door clearance zone 210′ depends solely on the physical characteristics of the vehicle and its various doors, the user may choose to expand the door clearance zone by a given amount under certain circumstances. For example, if an elderly or disabled person will be using the vehicle, the user can choose to employ an augmented door clearance zone. The larger size of the augmented door clearance on allows the system 100 to detect and warn about obstacles that lie beyond the area swept by a given door but which might hinder the movement of a given user. The option to select this feature could be provided in terms of an absolute distance to expand the door clearance zone, or one or two preset expansion levels could be provided. In some embodiments, presets could be provided in a manner similar to the technique employed for driver seat positions, using a key fob or similar device. Those of skill in the art will be capable of providing for selection of a wide range of augmented door clearance zones, as desired.
Referring now to
The process 400 begins at step 410, where the system 100 generates an initial display, such as that shown in
It should be noted that some embodiments of the system could rely solely on an audible alarm. In that event, no visual display 120 (
The specification sets out a number of specific exemplary embodiments, but those skilled in the art will understand that variations in these embodiments will naturally occur in the course of implementing the subject matter of the disclosure in specific environments. It will further be understood that such variation and others as well, fall within the scope of the disclosure. Neither those possible variations nor the specific examples set above are set out to limit the scope of the disclosure. Rather, the scope of claimed invention is defined solely by the claims set out below.
