VIRTUAL CONTROLS AND DISPLAYS BY LASER PROJECTION

• US 20100253595A1
• Filed: 09/21/2009
• Published: 10/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations Incorporated (Motors Liquidation Co. GUC Trust)
• Inventors: Szczerba, Joseph F., Seder, Thomas A., Cui, Dehua
• Application Number:
  US12/563,379
• Publication Number:
  US 20100253595A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/7
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/365 Guidance using head up displays or projectors, e.g. virtual vehicles or arrows projected on the windscreen or on the road itself
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/723 by using numerical data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/86 Combinations of radar systems with non-radar systems, e.g. sonar, direction finder
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/867 Combination of radar systems with cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/87 Combinations of radar systems, e.g. primary radar and secondary radar
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/86 Combinations of lidar systems with systems other than lidar, radar or sonar, e.g. with direction finders
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9316 combined with communication equipment with other vehicles or with base stations
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9318 Controlling the steering
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93185 Controlling the brakes
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9319 Controlling the accelerator
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/932 using own vehicle data, e.g. ground speed, steering wheel direction
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9321 Velocity regulation, e.g. cruise control
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9322 using additional data, e.g. driver condition, road state or weather data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9325 for inter-vehicle distance regulation, e.g. navigating in platoons
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93271 in the front of the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0141 characterised by the informative content of the display
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0187 slaved to motion of at least a part of the body of the user, e.g. head, eye
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/01 Head-up displays

Abstract

A method to display a graphic control display in a vehicle and receive a control input based upon the graphic control display includes displaying upon a surface within the vehicle a graphic control display based upon a control configuration, the graphic control display comprising an illustrative graphic presenting for selection a setting of a feature of the vehicle wherein the surface is coated with a material reactive to display graphics in response to an excitation projector. A control input corresponding to the illustrative graphic is monitored, and the feature of the vehicle is controlled based upon monitoring the control input.

Claims

1. Method to display a graphic control display in a vehicle and receive a control input based upon the graphic control display, the method comprising:

displaying upon a surface within the vehicle a graphic control display based upon a control configuration, the graphic control display comprising an illustrative graphic presenting for selection a setting of a feature of the vehicle;

monitoring a control input corresponding to the illustrative graphic; and

controlling the feature of the vehicle based upon the monitoring the control input; and

wherein the surface is coated with a material reactive to display graphics in response to an excitation projector.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the monitoring the control input corresponding to the illustrative graphic comprises monitoring a sensor configured to receive a touch input to a region upon the surface corresponding to the setting of the feature presented for selection.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the monitoring the control input corresponding to the illustrative graphic comprises monitoring one of a button, a knob, a switch, or a thumbwheel configured to receive an input corresponding to the setting of the feature presented for selection.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the control configuration is a selectable control configuration.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the selectable control configuration comprises an option selected by an originator of the vehicle.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the selectable control configuration comprises an operator-selectable configuration.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the operator-selectable configuration allows selection of one of a plurality of features of the vehicle that can be controlled.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the operator-selectable configuration comprises an adjustable configuration permitting an operator to change different control elements displayed.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

monitoring activation of the graphic control display; and

wherein displaying the graphic control display is based upon the activation of the graphic control display.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the monitoring activation of the graphic control display comprises monitoring a motion sensor configured to detect an occupant reaching toward the surface.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein monitoring activation of the graphic control display comprises:

monitoring a sensor configured to receive a touch input to the surface; and

determining activation of the display based upon monitoring the sensor indicating the touch input to the surface.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising displaying an alternate display when the monitoring activation of the display does not indicate desired activation.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the illustrative graphic presenting for selection the setting of the feature of the vehicle comprises an illustrative graphic presenting a setting of a multimedia device.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the illustrative graphic presenting for selection the setting of the feature of the vehicle comprises an illustrative graphic presenting a setting of a climate control system.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the illustrative graphic presenting for selection the setting of the feature of the vehicle comprises an illustrative graphic presenting a setting of a navigation system.

16. System to display a graphic control display in a vehicle and receive a control input based upon the graphic control display, the system comprising:

a surface coated with a material reactive to display graphics in response to an excitation projector;

a control module

monitoring a control configuration, and

generating a display requirement comprising an illustrative graphic presenting for selection a setting of a feature of the vehicle based upon the control configuration;

a graphics system generating a graphic control display to be displayed based upon the display requirement;

a graphics projection system communicating with the graphics system and displaying the graphic control display upon the surface, the graphics projection system comprising the excitation projector; and

a human machine interface device configured to monitor a control input corresponding to the illustrative graphic.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the material comprises a transparent phosphor film.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the excitation projector comprises an ultraviolet projector.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the display requirement comprises a plurality of illustrative graphics presenting for selection a plurality of settings of the feature.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein the surface comprises a contiguous segment of an instrument panel of the vehicle that is blank when the system is not activated.