Upgrade system for a motor vehicle, and method for assisting a driver in driving a motor vehicle

• US 9,368,033 B2
• Filed: 08/10/2011
• Issued: 06/14/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/13/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Valeo Schalter und Sensoren GmbH (Valeo SE)
• Original Assignee: Valeo Schalter und Sensoren GmbH (Valeo SE)
• Inventors: Reilhac, Patrice
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Trang U
• Application Number:
  US13/816,348
• Publication Number:
  US 20130141582A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,770 Days
• Field of Search: 348/148, 340/901, 340/438, 340/815.4, 340/461, 340/905
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09623 Systems involving the acquisition of information from passive traffic signs by means mounted on the vehicle G08G1/0967 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/16 Anti-collision systems road vehicle drive control systems for predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision otherwise than by control of a particular sub-unit B60W30/08
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/167 Driving aids for lane monitoring, lane changing, e.g. blind spot detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast

Abstract

The field of use of a portable communication appliance (2)—for example a mobile telephone—is intended to be extended for assisting a driver in driving a motor vehicle (1). An upgrade system (10) for a motor vehicle (1) is provided, having a portable communication appliance (2) for providing at least one functionality which assists a driver in driving the motor vehicle (1). The portable communication appliance (2) can use image data from a camera (9) to infer a state of movement of a windscreen wiper (16, 17) on the motor vehicle (1). The portable communication appliance (2) then factors in this state of movement when providing the at least one functionality for driver assistance. An appropriate method is also provided.

Claims

1. An upgrade system for a motor vehicle, comprising a portable communication appliance for providing at least one functionality which assists a driver in driving the motor vehicle, wherein:

the portable communication appliance uses image data from a capture device to infer a state of movement of a windscreen wiper on the motor vehicle and factors in this state of movement when providing the at least one functionality,

the upgrade system comprising;

the capture device which is separate from the portable communication appliance and which comprises a communication interface for wireless data transmission as an upgrade component for placement behind a windscreen, wherein the communication interface is used to upgrade the motor vehicle and to transmit image data wirelessly to the portable communication appliance, and wherein the capture device captures data about a surrounding area for the motor vehicle, and transmits the data to the portable communication appliance, wherein the portable communication appliance takes the data as a basis, and to factor in the state of movement of the windscreen wiper, for providing the at least one functionality which assists the driver in driving the vehicle.

2. The upgrade system according to claim 1, wherein the portable communication appliance is a mobile telephone or a mobile personal computer.

3. The upgrade system according to claim 1, wherein the portable communication appliance further comprises a camera integrated therein for the purpose of capturing image data and uses the image data from the integrated camera to infer the state of movement of the windscreen wiper.

4. The upgrade system according to claim 1, wherein the portable communication appliance uses the image data to infer a frequency and/or a speed of movement of the windscreen wiper.

5. The upgrade system according to claim 1, wherein the portable communication appliance takes the data from the capture device as a basis, and to factor in the state of movement of the windscreen wiper, for producing control data, for transmitting the control data to at least one further upgrade component, and thereby for actuating the at least one further upgrade component.

6. The upgrade system according to claim 5, wherein the portable communication appliance uses the data from the capture device to identify an obstacle that is external to the vehicle and to factor in the state of movement of the windscreen wiper to output a piece of information about the identified obstacle.

7. The upgrade system according to claim 6, wherein the portable communication appliance uses the data from the capture device to determine a distance between the obstacle and the motor vehicle and to warn the driver when the distance is below a threshold.

8. The upgrade system according to claim 7, wherein the portable communication appliance sets the threshold for the distance on the basis of the state of movement of the windscreen wiper.

9. The upgrade system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a front camera as an upgrade component for recording image data about a surrounding area for the motor vehicle for placement behind a windscreen of the motor vehicle, wherein the image data is transmitted to the portable communication appliance, and the portable communication appliance takes the image data from the front camera as a basis, and to factor in the state of movement of the windscreen wiper, for providing at least one functionality which assists the driver in driving the vehicle.

10. The upgrade system according to claim 9, wherein the portable communication appliance identifies a road sign by subjecting the image data from the front camera to pattern recognition and to factor in the state of movement of the windscreen wiper to output a piece of information about the road sign.

11. The upgrade system according to claim 9, wherein the portable communication appliance takes the image data as a basis for identifying an obstacle that is external to the vehicle and to factor in the state of movement of the windscreen wiper to inform the driver about the identified obstacle.

12. A method for assisting a driver of a motor vehicle in driving the motor vehicle, comprising:

providing at least one functionality using a portable communication appliance, wherein image data from a capture device are used by the portable communication appliance to infer a state of movement of a windscreen wiper of the motor vehicle, and this state of movement is factored in when providing the at least one functionality, and wherein the capture device is an upgrade component, used to upgrade the motor vehicle, to capture data about a surrounding area for the motor vehicle, and to transmit the data to the portable communication appliance, wherein the portable communication appliance takes the data as a basis, and to factor in the state of movement of the windscreen wiper, for providing the at least one functionality which assists the driver in driving the vehicle.