INFORMATION PROVIDING APPARATUS

• US 20170182936A1
• Filed: 09/08/2015
• Published: 06/29/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2014
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation, Subaru Corp.
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: KAWAMATA, Takaya, NAGASAWA, Isamu, SHII, Akifumi, SUZUKI, Kensuke, FURUKAWA, Toshiya, MIKUNI, Tsukasa
• Application Number:
  US15/316,286
• Publication Number:
  US 20170182936A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/143 combined with another condition, e.g. using vehicle recognition from camera images or activation of wipers
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 3/18 for varying the light intensity
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 3/20 for lighting specific fittings of passenger or driving compartments; mounted on specific fittings of passenger or driving compartments lighting for dashboards B60Q3/10
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 3/217 Doors, e.g. door sills; Steps
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 3/66 for distributing light among several lighting devices
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 3/70 characterised by the purpose
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 3/74 for overall compartment lighting; for overall compartment lighting in combination with specific lighting, e.g. room lamps with reading lamps general lighting mounted on specific fittings B60Q3/20; general lighting for mass transit vehicles B60Q3/43
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 3/78 for generating luminous strips, e.g. for marking trim component edges
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 3/80 Circuits; Control arrangements for dashboards B60Q3/16; for mass transit vehicles B60Q3/47
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 9/008 for anti-collision purposes
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 13/02 Internal Trim mouldings ; Internal Ledges; Wall liners for passenger compartments; Roof liners B60R13/01 takes precedence ; padded linings for the vehicle interior B60R21/04; arrangements or adaptations of floor mats or carpets in vehicles B60N3/04; internal lining for trains B61D17/18
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 13/0243 Doors
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2013/0287 integrating other functions or accessories
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01538 for image processing, e.g. cameras or sensor arrays
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/22 responsive to presence or absence of persons

Abstract

An information providing apparatus in a vehicle cooperates with a light emitting unit including light emitting elements that are arranged in at least one string line on a vehicle-interior side of a door of the vehicle. The information providing apparatus includes an information acquisition section and a light emitting control section. The information acquisition section acquires repeatedly situation information including a peripheral situation that indicates a situation on a peripheral region surrounding the vehicle. The light emitting control section controls the light emitting unit based on the situation information acquired by the information acquisition section. The light emitting control section controls the light emitting unit so that the light emitting unit emits light in a light emitting mode associated with an acquired peripheral situation that is the peripheral situation indicated by the situation information acquired by the information acquisition section.

Claims

1. An information providing apparatus in a vehicle, cooperating with a light emitting unit including a plurality of light emitting elements that are arranged in at least one string line on a vehicle-interior side of a door of the vehicle,

the information providing apparatus comprising:

an information acquisition section that acquires repeatedly situation information including a peripheral situation that indicates a situation on a peripheral region surrounding the vehicle; and

a light emitting control section that controls the light emitting unit based on the situation information acquired by the information acquisition section,

wherein the light emitting control section controls the light emitting unit so that the light emitting unit emits light in a light emitting mode associated with an acquired peripheral situation that is the peripheral situation indicated by the situation information acquired by the information acquisition section.

2. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the information acquisition section acquires repeatedly the situation information including, as the peripheral situation, a specific object situation indicating presence or absence of a specific object on the peripheral region surrounding the vehicle; and

the light emitting control section

controls the light emitting unit to emit light in a first light emitting mode that is previously specified when the specific object situation fails to indicate the presence of the specific object, and

controls the light emitting unit to emit light in a second light emitting mode that is different from the first light emitting mode when the specific object situation indicates the presence of the specific object.

3. The information providing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein:

the information acquisition section acquires, as one of the peripheral situation, a direction indication information that indicates a course that the vehicle is scheduled to travel; and

the light emitting control section controls the light emitting unit to emit light in a third light emitting mode that is different from each of the first light emitting mode and the second light emitting mode when the specific object situation indicates the presence of the specific object and, simultaneously, the direction indication information indicates the course that is towards a direction in which the vehicle approaches the specific object.

4. The information providing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein:

the specific object situation includes a physical quantity of the specific object that includes at least one of (i) a relative position of the specific object with the vehicle, (ii) a relative velocity of the specific object with the vehicle, and (iii) a magnitude of the specific object; and

the light emitting control section controls the light emitting unit to change a light emitting state of at least one of the light emitting elements depending on the physical quantity of the specific object.

5. The information providing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein:

the light emitting unit is provided in each of a door on a side of a front-passenger seat and a door on a side of a driver seat; and

the light emitting control section

controls the light emitting unit in the door on the side of the front-passenger seat when the specific object is existing closer to the front-passenger seat than to the driver seat, and

controls the light emitting unit in the door on the side of the driver seat when the specific object is existing closer to the driver seat than to the front-passenger seat.

6. The information providing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising:

an occupant information acquisition section that acquires occupant information indicating presence or absence of an occupant sitting on the front-passenger seat,

wherein when the occupant information acquired by the occupant information acquisition section indicates the presence of the occupant sitting, the light emitting control section controls at least the light emitting elements on the side of the front-passenger seat arranged within a field of view from an eye-point on the driver seat during driving.

7. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the light emitting control section controls the light emitting unit in the light emitting mode associated with the acquired peripheral situation by controlling at least one of a switchover between turning on and turning off of the light emitting elements, a color in light emitted by the light emitting elements turned on, an intensity of light emitted by the light emitting elements turned on, and a time length during turning on of the light emitting elements.

8. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the string line of the light emitting elements included in the light emitting unit has a front end that is closer to a front portion of the vehicle;

and

the front end of the light emitting unit is positioned to be higher than a handle of the door in a vehicle height direction.