Apparatus and method for adjusting driving position of driver

• US 10,298,722 B2
• Filed: 06/08/2016
• Issued: 05/21/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/11/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group)
• Original Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group)
• Inventors: Kim, Jin, Lee, Dong Youl, Kim, Chul Min, Kim, Young Su
• Primary Examiner(s): Antonucci, Anne M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Stroud, James E
• Application Number:
  US15/176,995
• Publication Number:
  US 20170129366A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,077 Days
• Field of Search: 701 49
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/334 Projection means
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/349 Adjustment of brightness
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/00 Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/23 Head-up displays [HUD] optical aspects of head-up displays G02B27/01
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/81 for controlling displays
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0248 with memory of positions
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 1/181 with power actuated adjustment, e.g. with position memory
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

An apparatus for adjusting a driving position of a driver of a vehicle includes: a communication module performing wireless communication with an external terminal of a user; a door module sensing an opening or closing of a door of the vehicle; and a controller receiving, when the door of the vehicle is opened, user information identifying the user from the external terminal via the communication module, retrieving driving position adjustment information corresponding to the user information from a big data server, and adjusting the driving position based on the driving position adjustment information.

Claims

1. An apparatus for adjusting a driving position of a driver of a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

a communication module performing wireless communication with an external terminal of a user;

a door module sensing an opening or closing of a door of the vehicle; and

a controller receiving, when the door of the vehicle is opened, user information identifying the user, including body information of the user, from the external terminal via the communication module, retrieving standard driving position adjustment information from a big data server, wherein the standard driving position adjustment information is calculated by the big data server based on at least one of external terminal identification information, vehicle identification information, occupancy position information, and the body information of the user, and adjusting the driving position based on the standard driving position adjustment information.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication module performs wireless communication with the external terminal using any one of communication technologies among Bluetooth, near field communication (NFC), radio frequency identification (RFID), infrared data association (IrDA), and ZigBee.

3. The driving position adjusting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the user information includes identification information of the external terminal.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the external terminal first attempts at communication connection with the communication module, the controller senses an occupancy position of the user, receives the user information from the external terminal via the communication module, registers the user information together with driving position adjustment information corresponding to the user information in the big data server, and manages the driving position adjustment information.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the big data server calculates the standard driving position adjustment information based on the user information.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the opening of the door is sensed by the door module, the controller determines an occupancy position of the user using door information, seat pressure information, seat belt information, and external terminal movement information.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the driving position adjustment information includes two or more of:

outside mirror adjustment information, seat adjustment information, steering wheel adjustment information, head-up display adjustment information, and cluster adjustment information.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller adjusts at least one of:

a reflection angle of an outside mirror via an outside mirror module, a seat position via a power seat module, a height or a depth of a steering wheel via a steering column module, and a brightness of a display via an output module, based on the driving position adjustment information.

9. A method for adjusting a driving position of a driver of a vehicle, the method comprising:

sensing that a user is present in the vehicle when an opening of a door of the vehicle is sensed;

receiving user information identifying the user, including body information of the user, from an external terminal of the user in wireless communication with a communication module;

retrieving standard driving position adjustment information from a big data server, wherein the standard driving position adjustment information is calculated by the big data server based on at least one of external terminal identification information, vehicle identification information, occupancy position information, and the body information of the user; and

adjusting the driving position based on the standard driving position adjustment information.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising determining an occupancy position of the user using door information, seat pressure and safety belt information, and external terminal movement information.

11. The method according to claim 9, further comprising searching for the driving position adjustment information in the big data server using vehicle identification information and identification information of the external terminal.

12. The method according to claim 9, wherein the retrieving of the driving position adjustment information comprises:

determining whether the external terminal is present within the vehicle and paired with the communication module;

when the paired external terminal is present within the vehicle, receiving the user information from the external terminal; and

calculating the standard driving position adjustment information corresponding to the user based on the user information in the big data server.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the body information includes a height and a weight of the user.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein the determining of whether the paired external terminal is present in the vehicle comprises:

when the paired external terminal is not present within the vehicle, searching for an unpaired external terminal uniformly maintaining a signal strength greater than or equal to a reference value, while the vehicle is driving for a period of time greater than or equal to a predetermined period of time; and

registering the unpaired external terminal as a valid device.

15. A non-transitory computer readable medium containing program instructions for adjusting a driving position of a driver of a vehicle, the computer readable medium comprising program instructions that:

sense that a user is present in the vehicle when an opening of a door of the vehicle is sensed;

receive user information identifying the user, including body information of the user, from an external terminal of the user in wireless communication with a communication module;

retrieve standard driving position adjustment information from a big data server, wherein the standard driving position adjustment information is calculated by the big data server based on at least one of external terminal identification information, vehicle identification information, occupancy position information, and the body information of the user; and

adjust the driving position based on the standard driving position adjustment information.

16. An apparatus for adjusting a driving position of a driver of a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

a communication module performing wireless communication with an external terminal of a user;

a door module sensing an opening or closing of a door of the vehicle; and

a controller receiving, when the door of the vehicle is opened, user information identifying the user, including body information of the user, from the external terminal via the communication module, retrieving standard driving position adjustment information from a big data server, wherein the standard driving position adjustment information is calculated by the big data server based on at least one of external terminal identification information, vehicle identification information, occupancy position information, and the body information of the user, and adjusting the driving position based on the standard driving position adjustment information,

wherein the controller adjusts at least one of;

a reflection angle of an outside mirror via an outside mirror module, a seat position via a power seat module, a height or a depth of a steering wheel via a steering column module, and a brightness of a display via an output module, based on the standard driving position adjustment information.