Vehicular driver monitoring system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12136295-B2
Application number	US-202318491858-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 23, 2023
Priority date	Sep 27, 2006
Publication date	Nov 5, 2024
Grant date	Nov 5, 2024

Abstract

A vehicular driver monitoring system includes an interior prismatic rearview mirror assembly and a camera disposed at the interior prismatic rearview mirror assembly behind and viewing through a prismatic mirror reflective element into the interior cabin of the vehicle. Supplemental sources of near infrared illumination are disposed at the mirror assembly that are operable to emit near infrared light to illuminate at least the driver-side front seating area within the interior cabin of the vehicle. Presence of the camera behind the prismatic mirror reflective element is not readily apparent to an occupant of the vehicle. The camera at least (a) views the driver-side front seating area of the vehicle and (b) views a passenger-side front seating area of the 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 prismatic 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 prismatic rearview mirror assembly comprises a prismatic mirror reflective element;
wherein the prismatic mirror reflective element comprises a prismatic glass substrate, the prismatic glass substrate having a planar front glass surface and a transflector-coated planar rear glass surface;
wherein the transflector-coated planar rear glass surface of the prismatic glass substrate is spaced from the planar front glass surface of the prismatic glass substrate by a thickness dimension of the prismatic glass substrate;
wherein the transflector-coated planar rear glass surface of the prismatic glass substrate of the prismatic mirror reflective element (i) transmits visible light and (ii) reflects visible light;
wherein the transflector-coated planar rear glass surface of the prismatic glass substrate of the prismatic mirror reflective element transmits near infrared light;
wherein the interior prismatic rearview mirror assembly comprises a mirror casing;
wherein a circumferential perimeter glass edge circumscribes a periphery of the prismatic glass substrate of the prismatic mirror reflective element, the circumferential perimeter glass edge spanning the thickness dimension of the prismatic glass substrate spacing the planar front glass surface from the transflector-coated planar rear glass surface;
wherein no portion of the mirror casing overlaps the planar front glass surface of the prismatic glass substrate of the prismatic mirror reflective element;
wherein a portion of the mirror casing circumscribes the circumferential perimeter glass edge circumscribing the periphery of the prismatic glass substrate of the prismatic mirror reflective element;
a camera disposed at the interior prismatic 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 prismatic mirror reflective element and views through the transflector-coated planar rear glass surface of the prismatic glass substrate of the prismatic mirror reflective element into an interior cabin of the equipped vehicle;
wherein supplemental sources of near infrared illumination are disposed at the interior prismatic rearview mirror assembly, and wherein the supplemental sources of near infrared illumination disposed at the interior prismatic rearview mirror assembly are operable to emit near infrared light to illuminate at least a driver-side front seating area within the interior cabin of the equipped vehicle;
wherein presence of the camera disposed behind the prismatic mirror reflective element and viewing through the transflector-coated planar rear glass surface of the prismatic glass substrate of the prismatic 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, a driver of the equipped vehicle seated at the driver-side front seating area within the interior cabin 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 disposed at the interior prismatic 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 prismatic 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 disposed at the interior prismatic 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 disposed at the interior prismatic rearview mirror assembly are disposed behind the prismatic mirror reflective element, and wherein near infrared light emitted by the supplemental sources of near infrared illumination disposed at the interior prismatic rearview mirror assembly passes through the transflector-coated planar rear glass surface of the prismatic glass substrate of the prismatic 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 disposed at the interior prismatic 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 the interior prismatic 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.

16. The vehicular driver monitoring system of claim 1 , comprising a video display device disposed within an interior cabin of the vehicle, and wherein the video display device comprises 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.

17. The vehicular driver monitoring system of claim 16 , 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 re

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