Light-emitting device, driving support system, and helmet

• US 7,598,927 B2
• Filed: 08/16/2004
• Issued: 10/06/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Kuwabara, Hideaki, Koyama, Jun, Yamazaki, Shunpei
• Primary Examiner(s): LEWIS, DAVID LEE
• Application Number:
  US10/918,402
• Publication Number:
  US 20050052348A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,877 Days
• Field of Search: 345 4- 9, 345/1.1, 345/3.1, 345 30-100, 701/1, 701/9, 701/28, 701/29, 701/36, 701/200, 701/300, 701/301
• US Class Current: 345/7
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 28/06 responsive to incapacity of driver
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/22 Psychological state; Stress level or workload
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/221 Physiology, e.g. weight, heartbeat, health or special needs
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/095 Predicting travel path or likelihood of collision
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/02 related to ambient conditions
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/08 related to drivers or passengers
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/365 Guidance using head up displays or projectors, e.g. virtual vehicles or arrows projected on the windscreen or on the road itself
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/01 Head-up displays
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/017 Head mounted
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0172 characterised by optical features
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/30 Polarising elements light-modulating devices with active elements G02F1/00
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 2102/3031 Two-side emission, e.g. transparent OLEDs [TOLED]
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/86 Arrangements for improving contrast, e.g. preventing reflection of ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/12 Active-matrix OLED [AMOLED] displays

Abstract

It is an object to provide a driving support system and a display device suitable for the driving support system. According to the driving support system, change in driver'"'"'s mental and physical conditions can be caught instantaneously and a warning light emission display is given within the forward sight of the driver in order to call the driver'"'"'s attention. A light emitting device of the driving support system can display a far side of the display. A display may be switched between a transmission mode and a non-transmission mode by adjusting a movable polarizer.

Claims

1. A driving support system comprising:

a camera for shooting a forward scene or a peripheral scene outside a vehicle;

a means for detecting a living body information of a driver;

a judging means for judging if there is any vehicle ahead, an obstruction, or the living body information of the driver; and

a light emitting device for displaying data on a drive of the vehicle or a warning data based on the judging means, the light emitting device comprising a first polarizer on a first surface of the light emitting device and a second polarizer, which is removable, near a second surface of the light emitting device,

wherein the light emitting device switches between a display superposed with the forward scene outside the vehicle in case of displaying data on the drive of the vehicle and a display without the forward scene outside the vehicle, which is shielded using the second polarizer, in case of displaying the warning data.

2. A driving support system according to claim 1, further comprising an audio output means for outputting the warning data based on the judging means.

3. A driving support system according to claim 1, further comprising a location data calculating means for calculating a self-location based on a signal from a GPS receiver and a memory means for storing map data, and the map data is read out from the memory means based on the location data calculating means and outputted by the light emitting device.

4. A driving support system according to claim 1, wherein the forward scene outside the vehicle can be viewed through a non-emitting part of the light emitting device when non-emitting, and by moving the second polarizer on the second surface of the light emitting device, the display without the forward scene outside the vehicle is obtained.

5. A driving support system according to claim 1, wherein the judging means for judging living body information of the driver is a means for judging driver'"'"'s mental and physical conditions comprising a sensor for catching living body information of the driver, a chaos attractor generating portion for calculating a chaos attractor by numerically processed data caught by the sensor, and a lyapunov index generating portion for calculating an index indicating to what degree the chaos attractor matches a definition of the chaos.

6. A driving support system comprising:

a camera for shooting a forward scene or a peripheral scene outside a vehicle;

a means for detecting a living body information of a driver;

a judging means for judging if there is any vehicle ahead, an obstruction, or the living body information of the driver;

a light emitting device for displaying data on a drive of the vehicle or a warning data based on the judging means, the light emitting device comprising a first polarizer on a first surface of the light emitting device and a second polarizer, which is removable, near a second surface of the light emitting device; and

a surrounding circumstance detecting means for detecting a surrounding circumstance of a vehicle,

wherein a display superposed with the forward scene outside the vehicle in a transmission mode and a display without the forward scene outside the vehicle in a non-transmission mode are switched automatically using the second polarizer depending on a surrounding circumstance obtained by the surrounding circumstance detecting means.

7. A driving support system according to claim 6, wherein the surrounding circumstance detecting means is a sensor for detecting the light intensity in the vehicle.

8. A driving support system according to claim 6, further comprising an audio output means for outputting the warning data based on the judging means.

9. A driving support system according to claim 6, further comprising a location data calculating means for calculating a self-location based on a signal from a GPS receiver and a memory means for storing map data, and the map data is read out from the memory means based on the location data calculating means and outputted by the light emitting device.

10. A driving support system according to claim 6, wherein the forward scene outside the vehicle can be viewed through a non-emitting part of the light emitting device when non-emitting, and moving the second polarizer on the second surface of the light emitting device, the display without the forward scene outside the vehicle is obtained.

11. A driving support system according to claim 6, wherein the judging means for judging living body information of the driver is a means for judging driver'"'"'mental and physical conditions comprising a sensor for catching living body information of the driver, a chaos attractor generating portion for calculating a chaos attractor by numerically processed data caught by the sensor, and a lyapunov index generating portion for calculating an index indicating to what degree the chaos attractor matches a definition of the chaos.

12. A driving support system comprising:

a camera for shooting a forward scene or a peripheral scene outside a vehicle;

a means for detecting a living body information of a driver;

a judging means for judging if there is any vehicle ahead, an obstruction, or the living body information of the driver;

a light emitting device for displaying data on a drive of the vehicle or a warning data based on the judging means, the light emitting device comprising a first polarizer on a first surface of the light emitting device and a second polarizer, which is removable, near a second surface of the light emitting device; and

a surrounding circumstance detecting means for detecting a surrounding circumstance of a vehicle,

wherein the light emitting device displays data on the drive of the vehicle superposed with the forward scene outside the vehicle, and

wherein the light emitting device emitting device emits a flash light from the whole surface instantaneously to the driver and to a forward sight of the driver for displaying a warning.

13. A driving support system according to claim 12, further comprising an audio output means for outputting the warning data based on the judging means.

14. A driving support system according to claim 12, further comprising a location data calculating means for calculating a self-location based on a signal from a GPS receiver and a memory means for storing map data, and the map data is read out from the memory means based on the location data calculating means and outputted by the display means.

15. A driving support system according to claim 12, wherein the display means is a light emitting device by which the forward scene outside the vehicle can be viewed through a non-emitting part of the light emitting device when non-emitting, and by moving the second polarizer on the second surface of the light emitting device, the display without the forward scene outside the vehicle which is obtained.

16. A driving support system according to claim 12, wherein the judging means for judging living body information of the driver is a means for judging driver'"'"'s mental and physical conditions comprising a sensor for catching living body information of the driver, a chaos attractor generating portion for calculating a chaos attractor by numerically processed data caught by the sensor, and a lyapunov index generating portion for calculating an index indicating to what degree the chaos attractor matches a definition of the chaos.