Vehicular gesture monitoring system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11167771-B2
Application number	US-201916240130-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 4, 2019
Priority date	Jan 5, 2018
Publication date	Nov 9, 2021
Grant date	Nov 9, 2021

Abstract

A vehicular gesture sensing system includes a radar assembly and method of operation thereof. The radar assembly includes at least one radar transmit antenna for transmitting radar waves in a cabin of a vehicle and at exterior areas outside the cabin and at least one radar receive antenna for receiving the radar waves after reflection of the vehicle or objects or an occupant in the vehicle. A control, via processing of data representative of the radar waves received by the radar receive antenna, detects a gesture made by the occupant in the cabin of the vehicle. The control correlates the detected gesture with a user input operation and, responsive to correlating the detected gesture with the user input operation, communicates a control command corresponding to the detected gesture to control at least one accessory of the vehicle in accordance with the user input operation.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicular gesture monitoring system, said vehicular gesture monitoring system comprising:
a radar assembly disposed in a cabin of a vehicle equipped with said vehicular gesture monitoring system;
wherein said radar assembly comprises at least one radar transmit antenna that is disposed in the cabin of the vehicle and configured to transmit radar waves in the cabin of the vehicle;
wherein said radar assembly comprises at least one radar receive antenna that is disposed in the cabin of the vehicle and configured to receive the radar waves in the cabin of the vehicle as reflected off an occupant in the cabin of the vehicle;
wherein data representative of the radar waves received by said at least one radar receive antenna is processed at a data processor of a control;
wherein the control, via processing at the data processor data representative of the radar waves received by said at least one radar receive antenna, detects a gesture made by the occupant in the cabin of the vehicle;
wherein the control, via processing at the data processor data representative of the radar waves received by said at least one radar receive antenna, correlates the detected gesture with a user input operation;
wherein the control, responsive to correlating the detected gesture with the user input operation, communicates a control command corresponding to the detected gesture to control at least one accessory of the vehicle in accordance with the user input operation; and
wherein said at least one radar transmit antenna and said at least one radar receive antenna are disposed at an interior rearview mirror assembly of the vehicle.

2. The vehicular gesture monitoring system of claim 1 , comprising a timing controller comprising at least one processing control input and at least one timing control output electrically coupled to said at least one radar transmit antenna for generating a transmit output signal utilized for transmission of the radar waves, and wherein said timing controller comprises at least one timing control input electrically coupled to said at least one radar receive antenna for receiving a receive input signal representative of the radar waves received by said at least one radar receive antenna.

3. The vehicular gesture monitoring system of claim 2 , comprising a memory unit electrically coupled to said timing controller for storing a plurality of stored parameters and data representative of the radar waves received by said at least one radar receive antenna, wherein said control is electrically coupled to said processing control input of said timing controller and stores a series of instructions, and wherein said control is configured to execute the stored series of instructions to operate said timing controller.

4. A vehicular gesture monitoring system, said vehicular gesture monitoring system comprising:
a radar assembly disposed in a cabin of a vehicle equipped with said vehicular gesture monitoring system;
wherein said radar assembly comprises at least one radar transmit antenna that is disposed in the cabin of the vehicle and configured to transmit radar waves in the cabin of the vehicle;
wherein said radar assembly comprises at least one radar receive antenna that is disposed in the cabin of the vehicle and configured to receive the radar waves in the cabin of the vehicle as reflected off an occupant in the cabin of the vehicle;
a timing controller comprising at least one processing control input and at least one timing control output electrically coupled to said at least one radar transmit antenna for generating a transmit output signal utilized for transmission of the radar waves, and wherein said timing controller comprises at least one timing control input electrically coupled to said at least one radar receive antenna for receiving a receive input signal representative of the radar waves received by said at least one radar receive antenna;
a memory unit electrically coupled to said timing controller for storing a plurality of stored parameters and data representative of the radar waves received by said at least one radar receive antenna, wherein a control is electrically coupled to said processing control input of said timing controller and stores a series of instructions, and wherein said control is configured to execute the stored series of instructions to operate said timing controller;
a transmit radio frequency amplifier electrically coupled to said at least one radar transmit antenna;
a receive radio frequency mixer and amplifier electrically coupled to said at least one radar receive antenna;
wherein said transmit radio frequency amplifier receives and amplifies the transmit output signal for said at least one radar transmit antenna;
wherein said receive radio frequency mixer and amplifier receive and amplify the radar waves reflected off the occupant in the cabin of the vehicle;
wherein said receive radio frequency mixer and amplifier outputs the receive input signal representative of the radar waves received by said at least one radar receive antenna;
wherein data representative of the radar waves received by said at least one radar receive antenna is processed at a data processor of said control;
wherein the control, via processing at the data processor data representative of the radar waves received by said at least one radar receive antenna, detects a gesture made by the occupant in the cabin of the vehicle;
wherein the control, via processing at the data processor data representative of the radar waves received by said at least one radar receive antenna, correlates the detected gesture with a user input operation; and
wherein the control, responsive to correlating the detected gesture with the user input operation, communicates a control command corresponding to the detected gesture to control at least one accessory of the vehicle in accordance with the user input operation.

5. The vehicular gesture monitoring system of claim 4 , further comprising:
a transceiver chipset comprising a transceiver input coupled to said timing controller;
a plurality of transceiver outputs electrically coupled to said transmit radio frequency amplifier and said receive radio frequency mixer and amplifier; and
wherein said plurality of transceiver outputs transmit the transmit output signal to said transmit radio frequency amplifier, and wherein said plurality of transceiver outputs control said transmit radio frequency amplifier and said receive radio frequency mixer and amplifier.

6. The vehicular gesture monitoring system of claim 5 , further comprising:
a digital to analog converter electrically coupled to said at least one timing control output and to said transceiver input;
an analog to digital converter electrically coupled to said at least one timing control input and to said receive radio frequency mixer and amplifier;
wherein said digital to analog converter converts the transmit output signal from said timing controller to an analog transmit output signal; and
wherein said analog to digital converter converts analog received radar signal to the receive input signal.

7. The vehicular gesture monitoring system of claim 5 , wherein said transmit radio frequency amplifier is electrically coupled to said receive radio frequency mixer and amplifier, and wherein said transmit radio frequency amplifier outputs a mixer output to said receive radio frequency mixer and amplifier.

8. The vehicular gesture monitoring system of claim 1 , wherein said control is electrically coupled to a vehicle communication bus for communicating with a plurality of vehicle controllers.

9. A vehicular gesture monitoring system, said vehicular gesture monitoring system comprising:
a radar assembly disposed

Assignees

• Magna Mirrors Of America Inc

Inventors

• Caron Stephen J
• Rafrafi Wassim

Classifications

• G06F3/017 Primary

  Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures (interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883) · CPC title

• G01S13/88

  Radar or analogous systems specially adapted for specific applications (electromagnetic prospecting or detecting of objects, e.g. near-field detection, G01V3/00) · CPC title

• G06F3/012

  Head tracking input arrangements · CPC title

• B60W2040/089

  Driver voice · CPC title

• G06F2203/0381

  Multimodal input, i.e. interface arrangements enabling the user to issue commands by simultaneous use of input devices of different nature, e.g. voice plus gesture on digitizer · CPC title