Driving assistance device and method

• US 9,827,835 B2
• Filed: 09/26/2014
• Issued: 11/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Valeo Vision (Valeo SE)
• Original Assignee: Valeo Vision (Valeo SE)
• Inventors: El Idrissi, Hafid, Beev, Kostadin, Hue, David, Gratien, Steed, Rocklinger, Marc
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith, Jelani
• Assistant Examiner(s): Martinez Borrero, Luis A
• Application Number:
  US14/916,680
• Publication Number:
  US 20160214467A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,159 Days
• Field of Search: 701 1, 701408, 701 49, 701 70, 701 93, 359630, 359631, 359900
• CPC Class Codes: B60J 3/04 adjustable in transparency

Abstract

A device for assisting in the driving of a motor vehicle, comprising a screen with variable transmission intended to be arranged between a road scene in front of the vehicle and a driver of the vehicle, the device comprising a number of sensors suitable for recovering data representative of the environment in which the vehicle is located, the device being configured to drive a transmission coefficient of the screen with variable transmission, wherein the device is configured to take into account the data recovered by the sensors and to compute the transmission coefficient by combining the data.

Claims

1. An assistance device for assisting in the driving of a motor vehicle, comprising a screen with variable transmission arranged between a road scene in front of said motor vehicle and a driver of said motor vehicle, said assistance device comprising a number of sensors suitable for recovering data representative of an environment in which said motor vehicle is located, said assistance device being configured to drive a transmission coefficient of said screen with variable transmission, wherein said assistance device is configured to take account of data recovered by said number of sensors and to compute said transmission coefficient by combining said data;

wherein a first of said number of sensors is a sensor configured to measure a brightness in a direction of an axis of said motor vechicle and a second of said number of sensors is a sensor configured to measure a brightness in another direction, said assistance device being configured to take account an orientation of a head or an eye of driver and perform said computation of said transmission coefficient as a function of data recorded by said first and said second number of sensors and as a function of said orientation of said head of said driver.

2. The assistance device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said number of sensors are suitable for recovering said data representative of an environment out of one or more of the following types of data:

atmospheric conditions;

a road environment; and

an environment of said driver.

3. The assistance device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said assistance device is suitable for determining a situation in which said motor vehicle and/or said driver is located from all or part of said recovered data.

4. The assistance device as claimed in claim 3, wherein said assistance device is suitable for determining said situation from data recovered out of the following data:

atmospheric conditions;

a road environment; and

an environment of said driver.

5. The assistance device as claimed in claim 3, wherein said assistance device is configured to assign a weight to all or part of said recovered data as a function of said situation of said motor vehicle and to weight said recovered data by their corresponding weight in a computation of said transmission coefficient.

6. The assistance device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said screen with variable transmission comprises spectacles and said second sensor is situated on said spectacles.

7. The assistance device as claimed in claim 1, comprising a pulsed lighting, said assistance device being configured to drive said pulsed lighting, in a first mode in synchronism with said transmission coefficient, and, in a second mode, independently of said transmission coefficient.

14. The assistance device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said assistance device is suitable for determining a situation in which said motor vehicle and/or said driver is located from all or part of said recovered data.

15. The assistance device as claimed in claim 4, wherein said assistance device is configured to assign a weight to all or part of said recovered data as a function of said situation of said motor vehicle and to weight said recovered data by their corresponding weight in a computation of said transmission coefficient.

16. The assistance device as claimed in claim 2, wherein a first of said number of sensors is a sensor configured to measure a brightness in the axis of said motor vehicle and a second of said number of sensors is a sensor configured to measure a brightness in another direction, said assistance device being configured to take account of an orientation of a head of a driver and perform said computation as a function of data recorded by said first and said second number of sensors and as a function of said orientation of said head of said driver.

8. An assistance method for assisting in the driving of a motor vehicle, said motor vehicle being equipped with a screen with variable transmission arranged between a road scene in front of said motor vehicle and a driver of said motor vehicle, said method comprising a step of recovery of data by a plurality of sensors, said data being representative of an environment in which said motor vehicle is located, and a step of driving a transmission coefficient of said screen with variable transmission, wherein said method comprises a step of taking into account of data recovered in said recovery step and a step of computation of said transmission coefficient by combination of said data;

wherein a first of said plurality of sensors is a sensor configured to measure a brightness in a direction of the axis of said motor vehicle and a second of said number of sensors is a sensor configured to measure a brightness in another direction, said assistance method taking into account an orientation of a head or an eye of a driver and performing said computation of said transmission coefficient as a function of data recorded by said first and said second of said plurality of sensors and as a function of said orientation of said head of said driver.

9. The assistance method as claimed in claim 8, wherein said data representative of said environment are chosen from one or more of the following types of data:

atmospheric conditions;

a road environment; and

an environment of said driver.

10. The assistance method as claimed in claim 8, wherein said method comprises a step of determination of a situation in which said motor vehicle is located from said recovered data.

11. The assistance method as claimed in claim 10, wherein said step of determination of said situation is performed on a basis of said data recovered out of the following data:

atmospheric conditions;

a road environment; and

an environment of said driver.

12. The assistance method as claimed in claim 10, wherein said method comprises a step of assignment of a weight to all or part of said recovered data as a function of said situation of said motor vehicle and in that it comprises a step of weighting of said recovered data by their corresponding weight for a computation of said transmission coefficient.

13. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein said method comprises a first step of driving a pulsed lighting of said motor vehicle, in synchronism with a driving of said transmission coefficient, and a second step of driving said lighting independently of said driving of said transmission coefficient.

17. The assistance method as claimed in claim 9, wherein said method comprises a step of determination of a situation in which said motor vehicle is located from said recovered data.

18. The assistance method as claimed in claim 11, wherein said method comprises a step of assignment of a weight to all or part of said recovered data as a function of said situation of said motor vehicle and in that it comprises a step of weighting of said recovered data by their corresponding weight for a computation of said transmission coefficient.