Vehicular driver monitoring system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11798319-B2
Application number	US-202318155146-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 17, 2023
Priority date	Sep 27, 2006
Publication date	Oct 24, 2023
Grant date	Oct 24, 2023

Abstract

A vehicular driver monitoring system includes an interior electrochromic rearview mirror assembly and a camera disposed at the interior electrochromic rearview mirror assembly behind and viewing through an electrochromic mirror reflective element into the interior cabin of the vehicle. Supplemental sources of near infrared illumination are integrated into the mirror assembly that, when powered to emit near infrared light, illuminate at least the driver-side front seating area within the interior cabin of the vehicle. Presence of the camera is not readily apparent to an occupant of the vehicle. The camera at least (a) views the driver-side front seating area of the equipped vehicle and (b) views a passenger-side front seating area of the equipped vehicle. The driver of the equipped vehicle is monitored via processing at the processor of image data captured by the camera.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicular driver monitoring system, the vehicular driver monitoring system comprising:
an interior electrochromic rearview mirror assembly disposed at an in-cabin side of a windshield of a vehicle equipped with the vehicular driver monitoring system, wherein the interior electrochromic rearview mirror assembly comprises an electrochromic mirror reflective element;
wherein the electrochromic mirror reflective element comprises a front glass substrate and a rear glass substrate with an electrochromic medium sandwiched therebetween;
wherein the front glass substrate comprises a planar first side and a planar second side separated by a thickness of the front glass substrate, and wherein a transparent electrically conductive coating is disposed at the planar second side of the front glass substrate;
wherein the rear glass substrate comprises a planar third side and a planar fourth side separated by a thickness of the rear glass substrate, and wherein a mirror reflector is disposed at the planar third side of the rear glass substrate;
wherein an electrochromic medium is disposed in an interpane cavity between the planar second side of the front glass substrate and the planar third side of the rear glass substrate;
wherein the interpane cavity is established by a seal that spaces the planar second side of the front glass substrate from the planar third side of the rear glass substrate;
wherein the electrochromic medium contacts the transparent electrically conductive coating disposed at the planar second side of the front glass substrate and contacts the mirror reflector disposed at the planar third side of the rear glass substrate;
wherein a metallic perimeter band circumscribes a perimeter border region of the planar second side of the front glass substrate of the electrochromic mirror reflective element, said metallic perimeter band masking the seal, that spaces the planar second side of the front glass substrate from the planar third side of the rear glass substrate, from view by a driver of the equipped vehicle viewing the electrochromic mirror reflective element when seated within an interior cabin of the equipped vehicle at a driver-side front seating area of the equipped vehicle;
a camera disposed at the interior electrochromic rearview mirror assembly;
wherein the camera comprises a CMOS image sensor;
wherein the CMOS image sensor comprises a photosensor array that senses both visible light and near infrared illumination;
wherein the camera is disposed behind the electrochromic mirror reflective element and views through the electrochromic mirror reflective element into the interior cabin of the equipped vehicle;
wherein supplemental sources of near infrared illumination are integrated into the interior electrochromic rearview mirror assembly that, when powered to emit near infrared light, illuminate at least the driver-side front seating area within the interior cabin of the equipped vehicle;
wherein presence of the camera disposed behind the electrochromic mirror reflective element and viewing through the electrochromic mirror reflective element is not readily apparent to an occupant of the equipped vehicle;
wherein the camera is operable to capture image data;
a processor that processes image data captured by the camera;
wherein the camera at least (a) views the driver-side front seating area of the equipped vehicle and (b) views a passenger-side front seating area of the equipped vehicle; and
wherein, via processing at the processor of image data captured by the camera, the driver of the equipped vehicle is monitored.

2. The vehicular driver monitoring system of claim 1 , wherein, via processing at the processor of image data captured by the camera, occupancy at the passenger-side front seating area is determined.

3. The vehicular driver monitoring system of claim 1 , wherein the supplemental sources of near infrared illumination integrated into the interior electrochromic rearview mirror assembly comprise a plurality of near infrared-emitting light emitting diodes.

4. The vehicular driver monitoring system of claim 3 , wherein the interior electrochromic rearview mirror assembly comprises the processor that processes image data captured by the camera.

5. The vehicular driver monitoring system of claim 1 , wherein the supplemental sources of near infrared illumination integrated into the interior electrochromic rearview mirror assembly comprise a plurality of near infrared-emitting lasers.

6. The vehicular driver monitoring system of claim 1 , wherein the supplemental sources of near infrared illumination integrated into the interior electrochromic rearview mirror assembly are disposed behind the electrochromic mirror reflective element, and wherein near infrared light emitted by the supplemental sources of near infrared illumination integrated into the interior electrochromic rearview mirror assembly passes through the electrochromic mirror reflective element into the interior cabin of the equipped vehicle.

7. The vehicular driver monitoring system of claim 6 , wherein the supplemental sources of near infrared illumination integrated into the interior electrochromic rearview mirror assembly are not readily apparent to an occupant of the equipped vehicle.

8. The vehicular driver monitoring system of claim 7 , wherein the processor that processes image data captured by the camera comprises a system-on-a-chip image processor.

9. The vehicular driver monitoring system of claim 6 , wherein, via processing at the processor of image data captured by the camera, movement by the driver is recognized.

10. The vehicular driver monitoring system of claim 9 , wherein the recognized movement by the driver comprises a hand gesture by the driver of the equipped vehicle.

11. The vehicular driver monitoring system of claim 10 , wherein, responsive at least in part to recognition of the hand gesture, a device of the equipped vehicle is controlled.

12. The vehicular driver monitoring system of claim 10 , wherein the recognized hand gesture by the driver of the equipped vehicle is for a gesture-controlled human-machine-interface (HMI) of the equipped vehicle.

13. The vehicular driver monitoring system of claim 10 , wherein the hand gesture by the driver comprises sign language.

14. The vehicular driver monitoring system of claim 1 , wherein, via processing at the processor of image data captured by the camera, air bag deployment is controlled.

15. The vehicular driver monitoring system of claim 1 , wherein no part of the rear glass substrate extends beyond any part of the front glass substrate.

16. The vehicular driver monitoring system of claim 1 , wherein the interior electrochromic rearview mirror assembly includes a head up display device that projects information toward the windshield of the equipped vehicle so as to be viewable by the driver of the equipped vehicle.

17. The vehicular driver monitoring system of claim 1 , comprising a video display device having a video display screen operable to display video images viewable by the driver of the equipped vehicle, and wherein the video display screen displays video images derived from image data captured by an exterior-viewing camera disposed at the equipped vehicle.

18. The vehicular driver monitoring system of claim 17 , wherein, when a portable hand-held device is present in the interior cabin of the equipped vehicle the portable hand-held device communicates a signal to a vehicle-based receiver, and wherein the video display device displays a listing of choices in responsi

Assignees

• Magna Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Kramer Mark E
• Lynam Niall R
• O'Connell David P
• Nise Vernon R

Classifications

• B60K35/265

  Voice · CPC title

• B60K35/23

  Head-up displays [HUD] (optical aspects of head-up displays G02B27/01) · CPC title

• B60K35/81

  for controlling displays · CPC title

• B60K35/60

  Instruments characterised by their location or relative disposition in or on vehicles (arrangements of lighting devices on dashboards B60Q3/10) · CPC title

• B60K35/28

  characterised by the type of the output information, e.g. video entertainment or vehicle dynamics information; characterised by the purpose of the output information, e.g. for attracting the attention of the driver · CPC title