Haptic vehicle alert based on wearable device

• US 10,099,608 B2
• Filed: 01/16/2015
• Issued: 10/16/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/16/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Cuddihy, Mark A., Rao, Manoharprasad K., Le, Jialiang
• Primary Examiner(s): Trieu, Van
• Application Number:
  US14/598,255
• Publication Number:
  US 20160207454A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,369 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 9/00 Arrangement or adaptation of signal devices not provided for in one of main groups B60Q1/00 - B60Q7/00 , e.g. haptic signalling
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 6/00 Tactile signalling systems, e.g. personal calling systems

Abstract

A vehicle includes a controller that communicates with a wearable device having a haptic mechanism. In response to an alert event detected by the vehicle, the controller outputs a signal to activate the haptic mechanism. The wearable device may detect a physiological or biometric characteristic such as pulse rate. The controller may output a signal to activate the haptic mechanism further in response to the pulse rate being less than a threshold. Also, the controller may output a signal to activate the haptic mechanism while the vehicle is operating autonomously.

Claims

1. A control system for a vehicle comprising:

at least one controller configured to

communicate with a wearable device having a haptic mechanism via a mobile phone paired with the at least one controller and wearable device, and

in response to an alert event detected by the vehicle, output a signal to the mobile phone to activate the haptic mechanism.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one controller is further configured to communicate with the wearable device using a radio frequency band of one gigahertz or greater.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the alert event is indicative of a lane departure alert, a pedestrian detection alert, a distracted driver alert, a drowsy driver alert, a blind spot alert, a collision avoidance alert, a park assist alert, a powertrain alert, or an adaptive cruise control alert.

4. The system of claim 1 further comprising a navigation system in communication with the at least one controller, wherein the alert event detected by the vehicle is generated by the navigation system.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the wearable device is a smart wrist band or a smart wrist watch.

6. A vehicle comprising:

a vehicle subsystem configured to generate alert events; and

at least one controller configured to

communicate with a wearable device, configured to detect a pulse rate and having a haptic mechanism that outputs a vibration, via a mobile phone paired with the at least one controller and wearable device, and

output a signal to the mobile phone to activate the haptic mechanism in response to receiving an alert event generated by the vehicle subsystem and the pulse rate being less than a threshold value.

7. The vehicle of claim 6, wherein the at least one controller is further configured to communicate with the wearable device using a radio frequency band of one gigahertz or greater.

8. The vehicle of claim 6, wherein the wearable device is a smart wrist band or a smart wrist watch.

9. The vehicle of claim 6, wherein the alert event is a drowsy driver alert or an inattentive driver alert.

10. A vehicle comprising:

a vehicle control module configured to operate the vehicle in an autonomous mode; and

at least one controller configured to

communicate with a wearable device, having a haptic mechanism that outputs a vibration, via a mobile phone paired with the at least one controller and wearable device, and

in response to a signal from the vehicle control module indicative of an alert event received while in the autonomous mode, output a signal to the mobile phone to activate the haptic mechanism.

11. The vehicle of claim 10, wherein the at least one controller is further configured to communicate with the wearable device using a radio frequency band of one gigahertz or greater.

12. The vehicle of claim 10, wherein the alert event is indicative of a lane detection alert, a park assist alert, or a powertrain alert.

13. The vehicle of claim 10 further comprising a display coupled to the at least one controller, wherein the at least one controller is further configured to provide output to the display indicative of physiological or biometric characteristics received from the wearable device.

14. The vehicle of claim 10, wherein the wearable device is a smart wrist band or a smart wrist watch.