Driver drowsy alert on full-windshield head-up display

• US 8,344,894 B2
• Filed: 09/21/2009
• Issued: 01/01/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Szczerba, Joseph F., Cui, Dehua, Seder, Thomas A.
• Primary Examiner(s): HOFSASS, JEFFERY A
• Application Number:
  US12/563,400
• Publication Number:
  US 20100253526A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,198 Days
• Field of Search: 340/573.1, 340/576, 340/575, 340/425.1, 340/435, 345 7- 9
• US Class Current: 340/576
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 28/066 actuating a signalling device B60K28/063 takes precedence
• 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 2027/0138 comprising image capture systems, e.g. camera
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/06 indicating a condition of sleep, e.g. anti-dozing alarms

Abstract

A substantially transparent windscreen head up display of a vehicle includes a display having one of light emitting particles or microstructures over a predefined region of the windscreen permitting luminescent display while permitting vision through the windscreen. A method to alert a drowsy driver condition upon a substantially transparent windscreen head up display includes monitoring a sensor configured to observe an operator of the vehicle, determining the drowsy driver condition based upon the monitoring the sensor, and alerting the drowsy driver condition upon the substantially transparent windscreen head up display based upon the determining the drowsy driver condition. Alerting the drowsy driver condition includes displaying a graphic selected to attract attention of the operator and the substantially transparent windscreen head up display.

Claims

1. Method to alert a drowsy driver condition upon a substantially transparent windscreen head up display of a vehicle, the method comprising:

monitoring a sensor configured to observe an operator of the vehicle;

determining the drowsy driver condition based upon the monitoring the sensor; and

alerting the drowsy driver condition upon the substantially transparent windscreen head up display based upon the determining the drowsy driver condition; and

wherein the alerting the drowsy driver condition upon the transparent windscreen head up display based upon the determining the drowsy driver condition comprises displaying a graphic selected to attract attention of the operator comprising one of a flashing graphic located at a gaze location of the operator, a pulsating graphic located at the gaze location of the operator, a graphic with increasing intensity, and a graphic with increasing persistence; and

wherein the substantially transparent windscreen head up display comprises a display comprising one of light emitting particles or microstructures over a predefined region of the windscreen permitting luminescent display while permitting vision through the windscreen.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the sensor configured to observe an operator of the vehicle comprises an eye location sensing system for the eyes of the operator.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the determining the drowsy driver condition based upon the monitoring the sensor comprises monitoring an occurrence of closing of the eyes of the operator for longer than a threshold time.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the determining the drowsy driver condition based upon the monitoring the sensor comprises monitoring an occurrence of accumulated closing of the eyes of the operator greater than a threshold accumulated closing of the eyes of the operator through a time span.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the determining the drowsy driver condition based upon the monitoring the sensor comprises monitoring an occurrence of gaze behavior of the operator indicative of drowsiness.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the determining the drowsy driver condition based upon the monitoring the sensor comprises monitoring a gaze location of the operator indicative of significant drooping of the head of the operator.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the determining the drowsy driver condition based upon the monitoring the sensor comprises monitoring a slowed pattern of the eyes of the operator opening after blinking as compared to a threshold time.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the sensor configured to observe an operator of the vehicle comprises a sensor monitoring monitor turning of a steering wheel;

and

wherein the determining the drowsy driver condition based upon the monitoring the sensor comprises monitoring a pattern of steering adjustment of frequency greater than a threshold frequency.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the sensor configured to observe an operator of the vehicle comprises a head orientation sensing system for the head of the operator.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the determining the drowsy driver condition based upon the monitoring the sensor comprises monitoring a head orientation of the operator indicative of significant drooping of the head of the operator.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising alerting the drowsy driver condition with an audible alarm.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising alerting the drowsy driver condition with a vibration alarm.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the alerting the drowsy driver condition upon the substantially transparent windscreen head up display based upon the determining the drowsy driver condition comprises displaying a textual message upon the substantially transparent windscreen head up display.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the alerting the drowsy driver condition upon the substantially transparent windscreen head up display based upon the determining the drowsy driver condition comprises alerting a passenger of the vehicle to the drowsy driver condition upon the substantially transparent windscreen head up display.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising alerting the drowsy driver condition over a telecommunications network.

13. Method to alert a drowsy driver condition upon a substantially transparent windscreen head up display of a vehicle, the method comprising:

monitoring a sensor configured to observe an operator of the vehicle;

monitoring a gaze location of the operator of the vehicle;

determining the drowsy driver condition based upon the monitoring the sensor;

alerting the drowsy driver condition upon the substantially transparent windscreen head up display based upon the determining the drowsy driver condition;

monitoring informational inputs describing the operational environment for the vehicle;

processing the informational inputs to synthesize an operational environment model, the processing comprising;

determining the informational inputs to indicate critical information;

determining spatial relationships of the critical information to the vehicle; and

synthesizing the critical information based upon the spatial relationships to form the operational environment model and the drowsy driver condition;

monitoring data related to a location of the eyes of the operator;

converting the environmental model into graphical images registering the critical information according the environmental model upon the substantially transparent windscreen head up display based upon the monitored data related to the location of the eyes of the operator; and

displaying the graphical images upon the substantially transparent windscreen head up display;

wherein the alerting the drowsy driver condition upon the transparent windscreen head up display based upon the determining the drowsy driver condition comprises displaying a graphic selected to attract attention of the operator and alerting the drowsy driver condition to a registered location based upon the gaze location of the operator;

wherein the substantially transparent windscreen head up display comprises a display comprising one of light emitting particles or microstructures over a predefined region of the windscreen permitting luminescent display while permitting vision through the windscreen; and

wherein the synthesizing the critical information based upon the spatial relationships to form the operational environment model and the drowsy driver condition selectively identifies safety critical information.

17. Method to display registered graphics upon a substantially transparent windscreen head up display of a vehicle based upon identification of a drowsy operator, the method comprising:

monitoring an operator gaze location;

identifying the drowsy operator based upon the monitored operator gaze location; and

displaying registered graphics upon the substantially transparent windscreen head up display of the vehicle selected to alert the drowsy operator based upon the operator gaze location, the graphics comprising one of a flashing graphic located at a gaze location of the operator, a pulsating graphic located at the gaze location of the operator, a graphic with increasing intensity, and a graphic with increasing persistence; and

wherein the substantially transparent windscreen head up display comprises a display comprising one of light emitting particles or microstructures over a substantially full-windscreen region permitting luminescent display while permitting vision through the windscreen.

18. System to alert a drowsy driver condition upon a substantially transparent windscreen head up display of a vehicle, the system comprising:

a sensor configured to observe an operator of the vehicle;

the substantially transparent windscreen head up display comprising one of light emitting particles or microstructures over a predefined region of the windscreen permitting luminescent display while permitting vision through the windscreen;

a control module determining the drowsy driver condition based upon data from the sensor; and

a graphics projection system alerting the drowsy driver condition upon the substantially transparent windscreen head up display based upon the determining the drowsy driver condition, the alerting comprising displaying graphics comprising one of a flashing graphic located at a gaze location of the operator, a pulsating graphic located at the gaze location of the operator, a graphic with increasing intensity, and a graphic with increasing persistence.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the substantially transparent windscreen head up display comprises a substrate combined with light emitting particles, wherein the particles are sized between 50 nm and 500 nm.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the graphics projection system utilizes an ultraviolet excitation light.