VIRTUAL VEHICLE ENTRY KEYPAD AND METHOD OF USE THEREOF

• US 20140015637A1
• Filed: 07/11/2012
• Published: 01/16/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Dassanayake, Mahendra Somasara, Wiemeersch, John Robert Van, Wu, Yitah Richard, Greenberg, Jeff Allen, Bilger, Donald Paul, Vojtisek, Mark George, Widrick, Chad A., Holub, Patrick
• Granted Patent: US 8,994,495 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/5.54
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2209/64 using a proximity sensor
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00174 Electronically operated locks; Circuits therefor; Nonmechanical keys therefor, e.g. passive or active electrical keys or other data carriers without mechanical keys mechanical locks with electric permutation E05B49/00; arrangements for sensing or reading record carriers G06K7/00; electronic switching H03K17/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/0069 actuated in a predetermined sequence

Abstract

Keypad indicia are integral with a window of a vehicle. The keypad indicia are formed using a ultra-violet (UV) fluorescent dye that is nearly invisible to a human eye until exposed to UV light. A UV light emitting device of the vehicle is configured for outputting UV light. The light emitting device is mounted for enabling the keypad indicia to be exposed to the outputted UV light thereby causing the keypad indicia to become readily visible by the human eye. An imaging device of the vehicle captures user interaction with the keypad indicia while the keypad indicia is exposed to the outputted UV light. The keypad interaction processor determines if a sequence of body part movements with respect to the keypad indicia that is captured by the imaging device during exposure of the keypad indicia to the outputted light corresponds to an access code of the vehicle.

Claims

1. A keyless entry keypad system for a vehicle, comprising

a vehicle window having an access code entry region integral therewith, wherein the access code entry region includes a layer of light reactive substance that transitions from being nearly invisible to a human eye to being highly visible to the human eye when exposed to light of a specified configuration;

a light emitting device configured for outputting light of the specified configuration, wherein the access code entry region and the light emitting device are jointly configured for causing access code entering indicia to become highly visible to the human eye within the layer of light reactive substance when the layer of light reactive substance is exposed to said outputted light; and

an imaging device for capturing user interaction with said access code entering indicia while the access code entry region is being exposed to said outputted light.

2. The keyless entry keypad system of claim 1 wherein:

said light reactive substance is a chemical composition that exhibits light fluorescing functionality when exposed to light in the ultra-violet (UV) light spectrum; and

said outputted light is predominantly in the UV light spectrum.

3. The keyless entry keypad system of claim 2 wherein me layer of light reactive substance is one of formed on ah interior space side of the vehicle window and formed at an interface between glass and polymeric layers of the vehicle window.

4. The keyless entry keypad system of claim 2 wherein said light reactive substance is a UV fluorescent dye.

5. The keyless entry keypad system of claim 4 wherein the light emitting device is one of a UV light emitting diode (LED) and a laser that emits UV light.

6. The keyless entry keypad system of claim 1 wherein:

the imaging device includes a camera configured for capturing images from visible light;

the camera and the light emitting device are both positioned on the interior space side of the vehicle window; and

the vehicle window, the camera and the light emitting device are all mounted on a door of the vehicle.

7. The keyless entry keypad system of claim 1 wherein the light emitting device adjusts an intensity of said outputted light dependent upon at least one of an ambient light level and a solar intensity level.

8. A keyless entry keypad apparatus of a vehicle, comprising

keypad indicia integral with a window of the vehicle, wherein said keypad indicia is formed using a substance mat transitions from being nearly invisible to a human eye to being highly visible to the human eye when exposed to light of a specified configuration;

a light emitting device configured for outputting light of the specified configuration, wherein said keypad indicia and the light emitting device are relatively positioned for causing said keypad indicia to be exposed to said outputted light such that the keypad indicia transitions to being highly visible to the human eye; and

an imaging device for capturing user interaction with said keypad indicia while said keypad indicia are exposed to said outputted light.

9. The keyless entry keypad apparatus of claim 8 wherein:

the substance from which said keypad indicia is formed is a chemical composition that exhibits light fluorescing functionality when exposed to light in the ultra-violet (UV) light spectrum; and

the light emitting device outputs light that is predominantly in the UV light spectrum.

10. The keyless entry keypad apparatus of claim 9 wherein said keypad indicia is one of formed on an interior space side of the window and formed at an interface between glass and polymeric layers of the window.

11. The keyless entry keypad apparatus of claim 9 wherein the substance from which said keypad indicia are formed is a UV fluorescent dye.

12. The keyless entry keypad apparatus of claim 11 wherein the light emitting device includes a light emitting diode (LED) from which said light is emitted.

13. The keyless entry keypad apparatus of claim 8 wherein:

the window includes a layer of glass and a layer of polymeric material adjoined to the layer of glass;

the layer of polymeric material is adjoined to a surface of the layer of glass that Faces an interior space of the vehicle when the window is mounted on the vehicle;

said keypad indicia is located one of at a position between the layer of glass and the layer of polymeric material and on a side of the layer of polymeric material that faces the interior space of the vehicle when the window is mounted on the vehicle.

14. The keyless entry keypad apparatus of claim 8 wherein:

the imaging device includes a camera configured for capturing images from visible light;

the camera and the light emitting device are both positioned on the interior space side of the window; and

the window, the camera and the light emitting device are all mounted on one of a door of the vehicle.

15. The keyless entry keypad apparatus of claim 14 wherein:

the substance from which said keypad indicia are formed is a UV fluorescent dye;

said outputted light is predominantly in the UV light spectrum;

the window includes a layer of glass and a layer of polymeric material adjoined to the layer of glass;

the layer of polymeric material is adjoined to a surface of the layer of glass that faces an interior space of the vehicle when the window is mounted on the vehicle;

said keypad indicia is located one of at a position between the layer of glass and the layer of polymeric material and on a side of the layer of polymeric material that faces the interior space of the vehicle.

16. The keyless entry keypad apparatus of claim 8 wherein the light emitting device adjusts an intensity of said outputted light dependent upon at least one of an ambient light level and a solar intensity level.

17. A vehicle, comprising

a window having keypad indicia provided thereon, wherein the keypad indicia is formed using an ultra-violet (UV) fluorescent dye that is nearly invisible to a human eye until exposed to UV light;

a UV light emitting device configured for outputting UV light, wherein the light emitting device is mounted on the vehicle for enabling said keypad indicia to be exposed to said outputted UV light thereby causing said keypad indicia to become readily visible by the human eye;

an imaging device for capturing user interaction with said keypad indicia while said keypad indicia is exposed to said outputted UV light; and

a keypad interaction processor for determining if a sequence of body part movements with respect to said keypad indicia that is captured by the imaging device during exposure of said keypad indicia to said outputted light corresponds to an access code of the vehicle.

18. The vehicle of claim 17 wherein the UV light emitting device includes a light emitting diode (LED) from which said UV light is emitted.

19. The vehicle of claim 17 wherein:

the window includes a layer of glass and a layer of polymeric material adjoined to the layer of glass;

the layer of polymeric material is adjoined to a surface of the layer of glass that faces an interior space of the vehicle;

said keypad indicia is located one of at a position between the layer of glass and the layer of polymeric material and on a side of the layer of polymeric material that faces the interior space of the vehicle.

20. The vehicle of claim 17 wherein:

the imaging device includes a camera configured for generating images from visible light;

the camera and the light emitting device are both positioned on the interior space side of the window; and

the window, the camera and the light emitting device are all mounted on a door of the vehicle.

21. The vehicle of claim 20 wherein:

the window includes a layer of glass and a layer of polymeric material adjoined to the layer of glass;

the layer of polymeric material is adjoined to a surface of the layer of glass that faces an interior space of the vehicle;

said keypad indicia is located one of at a position between the layer of glass and the layer of polymeric material and on a side of the layer of polymeric material that faces the interior space of the vehicle.

22. The vehicle of claim 17 wherein the light emitting device adjusts an intensity of said outputted light dependent upon at least one of an ambient light level and a solar intensity level.

23. A method of using a virtual vehicle entry keypad that is integral with a window of a vehicle to gain access to an interior space of the vehicle, comprising:

detecting presence of a person attempting to gain access to the interior space of the vehicle through a door of the vehicle;

determining that manual access authentication is required by the person for allowing access to the interior space after detecting presence of the person;

energizing a light emitting device for causing light of a specified configuration to be outputted therefrom in response to determining that manual access authentication is required, wherein said outputted light causes the virtual vehicle entry keypad to become visible by a human eye within a layer of light reactive substance integral with the window and wherein the layer of light reactive substance is nearly invisible to the human eye when not exposed to said outputted light;

monitoring interaction between the person and the virtual vehicle entry keypad while the light emitting device is energized; and

determining if said captured interaction corresponds to successful entry of an access code required for enabling the person to gain access to the interior space of the vehicle.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

determining at least one of an ambient light level and a solar intensity level prior to energizing the light emitting device; and

determining an illumination intensity for the light emitting device dependent upon at least one of the ambient light level and the solar intensity level;

wherein energizing the light emitting device is performed for causing said outputted light to be at about the illumination intensity.

25. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

determining a current position of the window in response to determining that manual access authentication is required; and

moving the window toward a closed position thereof in response to determining that the window is in a position in which at least a portion of the virtual vehicle entry keypad is inaccessible.

26. The method of claim 23 wherein detecting presence of the person includes receiving a signal generated in response to at least one of a door handle of the vehicle being moved and receiving a signal indicating that the person has touched the door handle.

27. The method of claim 23 wherein:

the layer of light reactive substance exhibits light fluorescing functionality when exposed to light in the ultra-violet (UV) light spectrum; and

energizing the light emitting device causes light predominantly in the UV light spectrum to be emitted therefrom.

28. The method of claim 27 wherein the layer of light reactive substance is formed in the shape of the virtual vehicle entry keypad.

29. The method of claim 23 wherein:

said outputted light is projected from the light emitting device such that said outputted light generates an image within the layer of light reactive substance; and

the image is a visual representation of the virtual vehicle entry keypad.