Method of controlling a display component of an adaptive display system

• US 9,383,579 B2
• Filed: 10/12/2011
• Issued: 07/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Visteon Global Technologies Incorporated (Visteon Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Visteon Global Technologies Incorporated (Visteon Corporation)
• Inventors: Madau, Dinu Petre, Mikolajczak, Matthew Mark, Morris, Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Bashore, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): Parker, Jeanette J
• Application Number:
  US13/271,843
• Publication Number:
  US 20130097557A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,728 Days
• Field of Search: 715/810, 345/156
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/113 for determining or recording eye movement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/163 by tracking eye movement, gaze, or pupil change
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/18 for vehicle drivers or machine operators
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/182 Distributing information between displays
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/334 Projection means
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/774 on or in the centre console
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/00 Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/23 Head-up displays [HUD] optical aspects of head-up displays G02B27/01
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/29 Instruments characterised by the way in which information is handled, e.g. showing information on plural displays or prioritising information according to driving conditions
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/60 Instruments characterised by their location or relative disposition in or on vehicles arrangements of lighting devices on dashboards B60Q3/10
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/65 Instruments specially adapted for specific vehicle types or users, e.g. for left- or right-hand drive
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/81 for controlling displays
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/014 comprising information/image processing systems
• 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: G06V 20/597 Recognising the driver's state or behaviour, e.g. attention or drowsiness
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/19 Sensors therefor

Abstract

An adaptive display system includes a display component to present an image to a user, a sensor for detecting a vision characteristic of the user and generating a sensor signal representing the vision characteristic of the user; and a processor in communication with the sensor and the display component, wherein the processor receives the sensor signal, analyzes the sensor signal based upon an instruction set to determine the vision characteristic of the user, and controls a visual output of the display component based upon the vision characteristic of the user.

Claims

1. A method of

controlling a display component of a display system of a vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:

providing the display component configured to present a menu system to a user, wherein the display component is a heads-up-display and the menu system includes a plurality of menus arranged along a common axis;

providing a sensor to continuously detect a vision characteristic of a user;

determining a field of focus of a user based upon the vision characteristic;

determining the field of focus of the user is in a predetermined region of one of the menus of the menu system and selecting the one of the menus of the menu system;

controlling a configuration of the selected menu automatically based only upon a current position of the field of focus by

expanding the selected menu of the menu system from a minimized position to a maximized position revealing additional information,

swapping the maximized selected menu of the menu system with another menu of the menu system in a desired position,

wherein the swapping results in the selected menu of the menu system being moved to a center position of the menu system, and

activating a trigger mechanism while the field of focus of the user is in the predetermined region of the maximized selected menu in the center position of the menu system, and

displaying an alternate view of the information presented by the maximized selected menu in the center position of the menu system.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the configuration of the selected menu includes at least one of a view of information presented by the selected menu and a position of the selected menu.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of providing a processor in communication with the sensor and the display component,

wherein the processor receives a signal from the sensor, analyzes the signal from the sensor based upon an instruction set to determine the vision characteristic of the user.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the instruction set is a software for determining at least one of a head pose of the user, a gaze direction of the user, and a field of focus of the user.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of providing a source of radiant energy to illuminate a portion of the user to facilitate the detecting of the vision characteristic of the user.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of providing notification to the user when the field of focus of the user is in the predetermined region of one of the menus of the menu system.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of determining whether a trigger mechanism is activated while the field of focus of the user is in the predetermined region of the selected one of the menus of the menu system.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of positioning at least one of the menus of the menu system in a minimized position when the field of focus of the user is outside the predetermined region of the at least one of the menus.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the minimized position is at an edge of a view of the user of the vehicle.