Automotive auditory feedback of changing conditions outside the vehicle cabin

• US 6,097,285 A
• Filed: 03/26/1999
• Issued: 08/01/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Carrum Technologies, LLC (Pratima Instruments, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Curtin, Steven D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu, Daniel J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Huang, Sihong
• Application Number:
  US09/277,317
• Time in Patent Office: 494 Days
• Field of Search: 340/436, 340/435, 340/903, 340/901, 340/904, 340/941, 340/942, 340/943, 340/384.1, 180/167, 180/169, 180/271, 180/274
• US Class Current: 340/436
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 5/005 automatically actuated
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 9/006 using a distance sensor

Abstract

A device for emitting audible signals within a vehicle compartment for notifying a driver of a vehicle of the presence of objects at predetermined locations around the vehicle. The driver is alerted to the presence of objects at predetermined sensing zones around the vehicle through the presence of audibly distinct tones corresponding to each sensing zone. Thus, an object present in any sensing zone causes a unique, audibly distinct sound to be generated within the cabin for warning the driver of the presence of a particular object.

Claims

1. A driver alert system for a moveable vehicle comprising:

a plurality of sensors, each sensor of said plurality being placed at a respective given position and capable of detecting the presence of an object in proximity to said vehicle;

a processor connected to said sensor for interpreting signals representative of a sensed object sent by said sensor in response to detection of an object; and

a signaling device connected to said processor for providing an audible warning signal to a driver of said vehicle, said signaling device providing an audibly perceptible signal indicative of a directional position of said object relative to said vehicle;

said processor determining said directional position of said object in part by determining which sensor of said plurality has detected the presence of said object;

said signaling device including a plurality of sound generating elements, each sound generating element of said plurality being placed at a respective interior position corresponding to said respective given position of an associated sensor of said plurality of sensors;

said signaling device further comprising an audible tone generator connected to said processor for directing an audible tone to a selected sound generating element of said plurality under the control of said processor in response to an object representative signal generated from one of said sensors of said plurality so that said driver may associate said audible tone with a directional location of said object based upon said driver perceiving said audible tone as originating from said respective interior position of said selected sound generating element and by association of said respective interior position with said given position of said sensor generating said object representative signal;

said audible tone generator including the capability of generating a plurality of audibly distinct tones, each audibly distinct tone of said plurality being associated with a selected one sensor of said plurality so that said driver may associate the presence of each one of said distinct tones with the presence of an object detected by an associated one sensor at its said respective given position and thereby determine said directional position of said object.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein each of said plural sensors senses objects in a respective sensing zone, and wherein said sensor is capable of sensing multiple objects in said sensing zone, and wherein said processor directs an audibly distinct tone for each object sensed in said zone to said selected sound generating element so that said driver may identify the presence of multiple objects in a sensing zone by the presence of multiple respective tones originating from said respective interior position of said selected sound generating element.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein said sound generating elements are loudspeakers.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein said system connects to an automotive audio system.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said sound generating elements are loudspeakers.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein one of said sensors is an infrared sensor.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein one of said sensors is a radar sensor.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein one of said sensors is an optical sensor.

9. A method of identifying the proximity of an object in a moving vehicle comprising the steps of:

(a) detecting the proximity of an object by at least one of a plurality of vehicle mounted sensors mounted at a preselected location for detecting the presence of objects in a respective predetermined sensing zone;

(b) associating each respective sensing zone with a respective distinct audible tone capable of being audibly directed into said vehicle interior by a sound generating element; and

(c) routing a respective distinct audible tone associated with the sensing zone within which said object is sensed so that said driver may associate the presence of each one of said distinct tones with the presence of an object detected by an associated one sensor of said plurality at its said respective preselected location and thereby determine said directional position of said object.