Vehicle-mounted monitoring arrangement and method using light-regulation

• US 7,655,895 B2
• Filed: 01/11/2007
• Issued: 02/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/05/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: American Vehicular Sciences LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Automotive Technologies International Incorporated
• Inventors: Breed, David S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee; John R
• Application Number:
  US11/622,070
• Publication Number:
  US 20080036187A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,118 Days
• Field of Search: 250/221, 250/222.1, 250/206.1, 250/206.2, 250/332, 356/4.07, 356/5.03, 356/10, 701/45, 701/300, 382/103, 382/104, 340/438, 280/735
• US Class Current: 250/221
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01516 using force or pressure sensing means
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/0152 using strain gauges
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/0153 using field detection presence sensors
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01542 detecting passenger motion

Abstract

Land-based vehicle including an arrangement for monitoring objects in or about a vehicle which includes a source from which illumination is emitted into an area in or about the vehicle, a receiver arranged to receive illumination reflected from an object in the path of the illumination, a light-regulating component arranged in front of the receiver to regulate reception of illumination by the receiver, and circuitry coupled to the source, the receiver and the light-regulating component. The light-regulating component is modulated to enable a determination of a distance between an object from which the illumination has been reflected and the receiver. The circuitry obtains information about objects from which the received illumination has been reflected other than distance information and associates with the objects distances between the objects and the receiver. This improves the ability to control vehicular systems based on the presence of objects in or about the vehicle.

Claims

1. A vehicle operating on land and including an arrangement for monitoring exterior objects about the vehicle, comprising:

a source from which illumination is emitted into an area about the vehicle;

a receiver arranged to receive illumination reflected from an object in the path of the illumination;

a light-regulating component arranged in front of said receiver to regulate reception of illumination by said receiver; and

circuitry coupled to said source, said receiver and said light-regulating component and arranged to obtain information about objects from which the received illumination has been reflected other than distance information,

said circuitry being arranged to coordinate the emission of illumination from said source and opening and closing of said light-regulating component to allow for reception of illumination by said receiver at a time interval between the opening and closing of said light-regulating component and after the emission of the illumination from said source by determining a range from said receiver from which illumination is sought to be received and then the times of opening and closing of said light-regulating component based on a time of emission of illumination from said source such that said light-regulating component allows reception of illumination by said receiver which has been reflected by any objects in the determined range,

said circuitry obtaining the information about the objects causing the reflected illumination other than the distance information only from illumination received during the time interval between the opening and closing of said light-regulating component and after the emission of the illumination from said source and thereby associating the information about the objects with the determined range between said receiver and the objects.

2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said light-regulating component is a LCD, a Pockel cell or a Kerr cell.

3. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said illumination source is an infrared laser or LED.

4. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said illumination source is an infrared laser or LED that transmits infrared in an eye-safe range.

5. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said light-regulating component is a spatial light modulator.

6. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said source is arranged to provide modulated illumination.

7. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said illumination source is an infrared laser or LED and said light-regulating component is a light valve.

8. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein information about the objects other than distance information is identification or classification information.

9. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said source is a high power eye-safe laser diode.

10. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said light-regulating component is modulated via a sinusoidal or pulse modulation.

11. A vehicle operating on land and including an arrangement for monitoring objects in or about the vehicle, comprising:

a source from which illumination is emitted into an area in or about the vehicle;

a receiver arranged to receive illumination reflected from an object in the path of the illumination;

a spatial light modulator arranged in front of said receiver to regulate reception of illumination by said receiver; and

circuitry coupled to said source, said receiver and said spatial light modulator and arranged to obtain information about objects from which the received illumination has been reflected other than distance information,

said circuitry being arranged to coordinate the emission of illumination from said source and opening and closing of said spatial light modulator to allow for reception of illumination by said receiver at a time interval between the opening and closing of said spatial light modulator and after the emission of the illumination from said source by determining a range from said receiver from which illumination is sought to be received and then the times of opening and closing of said spatial light modulator based on a time of emission of illumination from said source such that said spatial light modulator allows reception of illumination by said receiver which has been reflected by any objects in the determined range,

said circuitry obtaining the information about the objects causing the reflected illumination other than the distance information only from illumination received during the time interval between the opening and closing of said spatial light modulator and after the emission of the illumination from said source and thereby associating the information about the objects with the determined range between said receiver and the objects.

12. The vehicle of claim 11, wherein said illumination source is an infrared laser or LED.

13. The vehicle of claim 11, wherein the information about the objects other than distance information is identification or classification information.

14. A method for monitoring objects in or about the vehicle, comprising:

emitting illumination from a source into an area in or about the vehicle;

arranging a receiver to receive illumination reflected from an object in the path of the illumination;

arranging a light-regulating component in front of the receiver to regulate reception of illumination by the receiver;

coordinating the emission of illumination from the source and opening and closing of the light-regulating component to allow for reception of illumination by the receiver at a time interval between the opening and closing of the light-regulating component and after the emission of the illumination from the source by determining a range from the receiver from which illumination is sought to be received and then the times of opening and closing of the light-regulating component based on a time of emission of illumination from the source such that the light-regulating component allows reception of illumination by the receiver which has been reflected by any objects in the determined range;

obtaining information about objects from which the received illumination has been reflected other than distance information only from the illumination received during the time interval between the opening and closing of the light-regulating component and after the emission of the illumination from the source; and

then

associating the obtained information with range information relating to distances between the objects and the receiver.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the light-regulating component is an LCD, a Pockel cell or a Kerr cell.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the illumination source is an infrared laser or LED.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the illumination source is an infrared laser or LED that transmits infrared in an eye-safe range.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the light-regulating component is a spatial light modulator.

19. The method of claim 14, further comprising modulating the emitted illumination.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein the information obtained about the objects is identification or classification information.