Display Device for a Vehicle for Indicating Upcoming Automatically Performed Steering Interventions in a Vehicle

• US 20160052549A1
• Filed: 11/05/2015
• Published: 02/25/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/06/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Original Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Inventors: EICHHORN, Julian
• Granted Patent: US 9,567,008 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/782 on the steering wheel
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2370/782 on the steering wheel
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/00 Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles
• 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: B60W 2050/146 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/10 Path keeping cruise control for automatically following a preceding vehicle B60W30/165
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/12 Lane keeping
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/025 Active steering aids, e.g. helping the driver by actively influencing the steering system after environment evaluation B62D1/28 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/0255 Automatic changing of lane, e.g. for passing another vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/029 Steering assistants using warnings or proposing actions to the driver without influencing the steering system

Abstract

A display device for a vehicle indicates upcoming automatically performed steering interventions. The display device includes a vehicle steering wheel; a light strip comprising a plurality of light elements positioned one alongside another, the light strip being formed in the vehicle steering wheel and being visible therein; and a control device that is coupled to the light strip and is configured to receive information regarding upcoming automatically performed steering interventions, particularly from a unit for automatically determining upcoming driving maneuvers, and activate light elements of the light strip on the basis of the received information on upcoming steering interventions.

Claims

1. A display device for indicating an upcoming, automatically performed steering intervention in a vehicle, comprising:

a vehicle steering wheel;

a light strip comprising a plurality of light elements positioned beside one another, the light strip being included in the vehicle steering wheel so as to be visible; and

a control unit operatively coupled to the light strip, the control unit receiving information relating to the upcoming automatically performed steering intervention in the vehicle and activating certain light elements of the light strip based on the received information relating to the upcoming automatically performed steering intervention in the vehicle.

2. The display device according to claim 1, further comprising:

an automatic upcoming driving maneuver determination unit, the automatic upcoming driving maneuver determination unit providing the information relating to the upcoming automatically performed steering intervention to the control unit.

3. The display device according to claim 1, wherein

the upcoming automatically performed steering intervention comprises an automatic rotation of the steering wheel, and

the activating of certain light elements of the light strip comprises a determination of the number of light elements activated based on a magnitude of the automatic rotation of the steering wheel.

4. The display device according to claim 2, wherein

a reference point is predefined on the light strip, the reference point being marked by activating one or more of the light elements, and

a direction of rotation of the steering wheel is assigned to the light elements of the light strip on one side of the reference point, wherein in an event of rotation of the steering wheel in the direction of rotation, the light elements assigned to the direction of rotation are activated.

5. The display device according to claim 3, wherein

the reference point is selected such that a vector from a center of a rotational axis of the steering wheel to the reference point does not have a vector component in a lateral direction with respect to the vehicle when the vehicle is traveling straight ahead.

6. The display device according to claim 5, wherein

in an event of rotation of the steering wheel, the reference point is rotated in a manner corresponding to the rotation of the steering wheel, and

the light elements are activated such that, during the rotation of the steering wheel, the light elements indicate an upcoming position of the reference point.

7. The display device according to claim 6, wherein the upcoming position of the reference point is indicated via an annular or circular marking.

8. The display device according to claim 6, wherein light elements located between the reference point and the upcoming position of the reference point at a predetermined future time are activated, as a result of which a movement is displayed.

9. The display device according to claim 8, wherein the predetermined future time is a time of one, two, three, four or five seconds in the future.

10. The display device according to claim 8, wherein light elements that have been passed over by the reference point are deactivated.

11. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the light elements are continuously activated according to a lateral guidance of the vehicle in a predetermined future time period.

12. The display device according to claim 11, wherein the predetermined future time period is a time period of one, two, three, four or five seconds in the future.