Safety devices for use in motor vehicles
First Claim
1. A safety device for use with at least one driver operable device deployable in a motor vehicle, each driver operable device having a manually operable control panel, and a display window, the safety device comprising:
- (a) a memory for storing a graphical near exact replica image of a driver operable device'"'"'s control panel;
(b) a head-up display for projecting a head-up display image of said graphical near exact replica image; and
(c) a plurality of finger position detection sensors deployed around at least a portion of the periphery of the driver operable device'"'"'s control panel for continuously tracking the instantaneous position of a driver'"'"'s fingertip with respect thereto for displaying a graphical icon representative of the position of the driver'"'"'s fingertip with respect to the driver operable device'"'"'s control panel on said graphical near exact replica image.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention is directed toward head-up display based safety devices for use in motor vehicles. The first aspect of the present invention is directed towards facilitating accurate driver operation of a driver operable device deployable in a motor vehicle without the need for a driver to turn his eyes downwards toward its control panel. This can be achieved by either providing an icon representative of the position of a driver'"'"'s fingertip positioned for operating the driver operable device for superimposition on a head-up display image of the layout of its control panel, or employing a speech recognition module to issue output control signals in accordance with spoken commands. The second aspect of the present invention is directed toward projecting a head-up display image of a driver'"'"'s rear field of vision including wireframe images of objects located therein.
24 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A safety device for use with at least one driver operable device deployable in a motor vehicle, each driver operable device having a manually operable control panel, and a display window, the safety device comprising:
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(a) a memory for storing a graphical near exact replica image of a driver operable device'"'"'s control panel;
(b) a head-up display for projecting a head-up display image of said graphical near exact replica image; and
(c) a plurality of finger position detection sensors deployed around at least a portion of the periphery of the driver operable device'"'"'s control panel for continuously tracking the instantaneous position of a driver'"'"'s fingertip with respect thereto for displaying a graphical icon representative of the position of the driver'"'"'s fingertip with respect to the driver operable device'"'"'s control panel on said graphical near exact replica image. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A safety device for use with at least one driver operable device deployable in a motor vehicle, each driver operable device having a manually operable control panel with a display window, and a data output capability, the safety device comprising:
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(a) a memory for storing a graphical near exact replica image of a driver operable device'"'"'s control panel;
(b) a head up display for projecting a head-up display image of said graphical near exact replica image with the same information as displayed in the device'"'"'s display window; and
(c) icon positioning apparatus for controlling the superimposition of a graphical icon representative of the position of a driver'"'"'s fingertip for operating the driver operable device on said graphical near exact replica image. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A safety device for use with at least one driver operable device deployable in a motor vehicle, each driver operable device having a data input capability for enabling remote driver operation, the safety device comprising:
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(a) a memory for storing a graphical image of a control panel for operating the driver operable device;
(b) a head up display for projecting a head-up display image of said graphical image; and
(c) a manually operated icon positioning apparatus deployed in the motor vehicle'"'"'s interior for continuously controlling the instantaneous position of a graphical icon on said graphical image for remotely operating the driver operable device. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification