Point of interest location marking on full windshield head-up display

• US 8,358,224 B2
• Filed: 09/21/2009
• Issued: 01/22/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Seder, Thomas A., Szczerba, Joseph F., Cui, Dehua
• Primary Examiner(s): HOFSASS, JEFFERY A
• Application Number:
  US12/563,355
• Publication Number:
  US 20100253542A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,219 Days
• Field of Search: 340/995.1, 340/0.24, 340/0.26, 340/0.27, 340/0.28, 701/200, 701/208, 701/213, 345 7- 9
• US Class Current: 340/995.24
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/723 by using numerical data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/86 Combinations of radar systems with non-radar systems, e.g. sonar, direction finder
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/867 Combination of radar systems with cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/87 Combinations of radar systems, e.g. primary radar and secondary radar
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/86 Combinations of lidar systems with systems other than lidar, radar or sonar, e.g. with direction finders
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9316 combined with communication equipment with other vehicles or with base stations
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9318 Controlling the steering
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93185 Controlling the brakes
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9319 Controlling the accelerator
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/932 using own vehicle data, e.g. ground speed, steering wheel direction
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9321 Velocity regulation, e.g. cruise control
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9322 using additional data, e.g. driver condition, road state or weather data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9325 for inter-vehicle distance regulation, e.g. navigating in platoons
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93271 in the front of the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/22 Producing cursor lines and indicia by electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/01 Head-up displays

Abstract

A substantially transparent windscreen head up display includes one of light emitting particles or microstructures over a predefined region of the windscreen permitting luminescent display while permitting vision through the windscreen. A method to display a graphic identifying a point-of-interest upon the substantially transparent windscreen head up display of a vehicle includes monitoring the point-of-interest, monitoring a GPS digital map device, determining a graphic describing the location of the point-of-interest based upon data from the GPS digital map device for display upon the substantially transparent windscreen head up display, and displaying the graphic upon the substantially transparent windscreen head up display.

Claims

1. Method to display a graphic identifying a point-of-interest upon a substantially transparent windscreen head up display of a vehicle, the method comprising:

monitoring a location of eyes of an operator of the vehicle;

monitoring the point-of-interest;

monitoring a GPS digital map device;

determining a registered graphic describing the location of the point-of-interest, the registered graphic being registered to a view of the point-of-interest through the display, based upon data from the GPS digital map device and the location of the eyes of the operator for display upon the substantially transparent windscreen head up display; and

displaying the graphic upon the substantially transparent windscreen head up display; and

wherein the substantially transparent windscreen head up display comprises one of light emitting particles or microstructures over a predefined region of the windscreen permitting luminescent display while permitting vision through the windscreen.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the graphic comprises navigational instructions.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein monitoring the point-of-interest comprises monitoring a destination of a planned route.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the graphic comprises an indication to a building visible through the substantially transparent windscreen head up display.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the graphic comprises a directional indicator describing a relative bearing of the destination to the vehicle.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the graphic further comprises a distance from the vehicle to the destination.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein the graphic comprises an indication to an occluded building destination not visible through the substantially transparent windscreen head up display.

8. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

monitoring information about the destination through a communications network; and

wherein determining the graphic is further based upon the information about the destination.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein monitoring information about the destination comprises monitoring parking information for the destination.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein monitoring information about the destination comprises monitoring operating hours for the destination.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein monitoring information about the destination comprises monitoring advertising information for the destination.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

monitoring a point-of-interest preference through a human machine interface device; and

wherein monitoring the point-of-interest comprises

determining a potential destination based upon the point-of-interest preference and data from the GPS digital map device, and

selecting the point-of-interest as a potential destination.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein determining the graphic describing the location of the point-of-interest comprises determining a graphic presenting the potential destination to an operator of the vehicle for selection as a destination.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

monitoring information about the potential destination through a communications network; and

wherein determining the graphic is further based upon the information about the destination.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein monitoring the point-of-interest comprises:

monitoring a geotag device describing a location proximate to the vehicle.

16. Method to display a graphic identifying a point-of-interest upon a substantially transparent windscreen head up display of a vehicle, the method comprising:

monitoring the point-of-interest;

monitoring a GPS digital map device;

monitoring a vehicle-to-vehicle communication;

determining a graphic describing the location of the point-of-interest based upon data from the GPS digital map device and the vehicle-to-vehicle communication for display upon the substantially transparent windscreen head up display; and

displaying the graphic upon the substantially transparent windscreen head up display; and

wherein the substantially transparent windscreen head up display comprises one of light emitting particles or microstructures over a predefined region of the windscreen permitting luminescent display while permitting vision through the windscreen.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the vehicle-to-vehicle communication comprises a route driven by another vehicle;

and

wherein determining the graphic describing the location of the point-of-interest based upon the vehicle-to-vehicle communication comprises illustration of the route driven by the other vehicle.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

monitoring a request for an image of a destination by a human machine interface device of the vehicle;

wherein the vehicle-to-vehicle communication comprises

conveying the request for the image to another vehicle proximate to the destination; and

transferring the image of the destination from the other vehicle to the vehicle; and

wherein determining the graphic describing the location of the point-of-interest comprises the image of the destination.

19. Method to identify within a visual field a destination upon a substantially transparent windscreen head up display of a vehicle, the method comprising:

monitoring selection of the destination;

locating the destination within a digital map database;

monitoring a location of the vehicle;

monitoring a location of the eyes of an operator of the vehicle;

determining a registered graphic selectably identifying the destination for display upon the substantially transparent windscreen head up display based upon the location of the destination, the location of the vehicle, and the location of the eyes of the operator; and

displaying the graphic upon the substantially transparent windscreen head up display; and

wherein the substantially transparent windscreen head up display comprises one of light emitting particles or microstructures over a predefined region of the windscreen permitting luminescent display while permitting vision through the windscreen.

20. System to display a graphic identifying a point-of-interest upon a substantially transparent windscreen head up display of a vehicle, the system comprising:

a sensor describing an operational environment of the vehicle;

a GPS digital map device;

a sensor describing a location of the eyes of an operator of the vehicle;

the substantially transparent windscreen head up display comprising one of light emitting particles or microstructures over a predefined region of the windscreen permitting luminescent display while permitting vision through the windscreen;

an enhanced vision system manager monitoring a selection of the point-of-interest,

monitoring data from the sensor describing an operational environment of the vehicle,

monitoring data from the GPS digital map device,

monitoring data from the sensor describing the location of the eyes of the operator, and

determining a registered location of the point-of-interest within a field of view through the substantially transparent windscreen head up display based upon the from the sensor describing an operational environment of the vehicle, the data from the GPS digital map device, and the data from the sensor describing the location of the eyes of the operator;

a graphics system generating the identifying graphic to be displayed based upon the registered location of the point-of-interest within the field of view; and

a graphics projection system communicating with the graphics system and displaying the identifying graphic upon the substantially transparent windscreen head up display.