Vehicle control system

Abstract

The invention provides a vehicle control system capable of effectively reducing power consumption of a vehicle applied to a display object. The vehicle control system is suitable for being installed in a vehicle and comprises a first detection component installed on a seat or a safety belt arranged on the vehicle so as to detect a seat on which a passenger does not sit; and a control unit configured to perform a process of reducing visibility of a display object facing the seat on which the passenger is not seated, based on a detection result of the first detection unit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a vehicle control system. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, in order to ensure that more people have access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and advanced energy, research and development to improve energy efficiency has been carried out to contribute to energy efficiency. However, among the technologies to improve energy efficiency, the power consumption of vehicles is a problem.

[0003] Specifically, in the prior art, as the operability and applicability of vehicles are improved, display objects facing seats (such as dashboard displays, flat panel displays, head-up displays, etc.) are also installed in vehicles. However, when more than one display object is installed in a vehicle, or when the display objects installed in the vehicle are pursued to be large-scale or highly functional, it is foreseeable that the power consumption of the vehicle will also increase. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the power consumption of the display objects used in the vehicle.

[0004] The present invention aims to achieve improvement in energy efficiency in order to solve the above-mentioned problems and further contribute to improvement in energy efficiency. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present invention provides a vehicle control system which can effectively reduce the power consumption of the vehicle for displaying objects.

[0006] The vehicle control system of the present invention is suitable for installation in a vehicle and includes: a first detection component, installed on a seat or a seat belt provided in the vehicle to detect a seat that is not occupied by a passenger; and a control component, based on the detection result of the first detection component, processing the display object facing the seat that is not occupied by the passenger to reduce the visibility.

[0007] In one embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle control system also includes: a second detection component, which detects display objects that the passenger is not looking at, and the control component reduces the visibility of display objects that are facing the seat where the passenger is sitting and that the passenger is not looking at, based on the detection results of the first detection component and the second detection component.

[0008] In one embodiment of the present invention, when the passenger is warned or notified by the display object, the control unit performs a process to increase visibility of the display object facing the seat where the passenger is sitting and which the passenger is not looking at.

[0009] In one embodiment of the present invention, the second detection component includes a camera component installed in the vehicle, an angle sensor installed on the seat on which the passenger sits, and a handheld mobile device of the passenger. The determination of the display object that the passenger is not looking at is performed based on one of the camera component's line of sight detection of the passenger, the tilt angle of the seat on which the passenger sits, and the usage status of the handheld mobile device.

[0010] In an embodiment of the present invention, the visibility processing includes changing display brightness, changing display priority, changing display frame rate, or changing whether to display.

[0011] In one embodiment of the present invention, when changing the display brightness as the visibility processing, the change range of the display brightness is adjusted according to the environment in which the vehicle is located.

[0012] In one embodiment of the present invention, when the visibility is processed by changing the display frame rate, the display frame rate is not reduced when the display object is playing a movie.

[0013] Based on the above, the vehicle control system of the present invention detects seats that are not occupied by passengers through the first detection component, and reduces the visibility of display objects facing seats that are not occupied by passengers through the control component. In other words, for display objects facing seats that are not occupied by passengers, it is assumed that there is no need to use the display objects to display images to passengers, so such display objects are processed to reduce visibility (for example, reduce display brightness, reduce display priority, reduce display frame rate, or turn off display) to reduce unnecessary power consumption. Accordingly, the vehicle control system of the present invention can effectively reduce the power consumption of the vehicle applied to display objects.

[0014] In order to make the above features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the following embodiments are specifically cited and described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a vehicle to which a vehicle control system according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied;

[0016] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 The electrical structure diagram of the vehicle control system shown;

[0017] Figure 3 yes Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the operation flow of the vehicle control system shown.

[0018] Description of Reference Numerals

[0019] 50: Vehicle;

[0020] 52, 52a to 52d: seats;

[0021] 54, 54a to 54d: display object;

[0022] 100: Vehicle control system;

[0023] 110: a first detection component;

[0024] 120: control components;

[0025] 130: second detection component;

[0026] 132: Camera component;

[0027] 134: Angle sensor;

[0028] M1: non-display mode;

[0029] M2: Normal display mode;

[0030] M3: low display mode;

[0031] S01 to S05: steps. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a vehicle to which a vehicle control system according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied, Figure 2 yes Figure 1 The electrical structure diagram of the vehicle control system shown in FIG. Figure 3 yes Figure 2 The following is a schematic diagram of the operation flow of the vehicle control system. Figures 1 to 3 The application and specific composition of the vehicle control system 100 of this embodiment are described, but this is only an example and the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0033] Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 In this embodiment, the vehicle control system 100 is suitable for being installed in the vehicle 50 to control the display performance of the vehicle 50. The vehicle control system 100 includes a first detection component 110 and a control component 120. The first detection component 110 is installed on a seat 52 or a seat belt (not shown) provided in the vehicle 50 to detect a seat 52 where a passenger is not sitting. The control component 120 performs a process of reducing the visibility of the display object 54 facing the seat 52 where a passenger is not sitting based on the detection result of the first detection component 110 (whether there is a seat 52 where a passenger is not sitting).

[0034] Specifically, in this embodiment, the vehicle 50 includes seats 52a and 52b in the front row, and seats 52c and 52d in the back row, wherein the left seat 52a in the front row is a driver's seat and the right seat 52b in the front row is a co-driver's seat, and the back seats 52c and 52d are connected passenger seats, but the position of the driver's seat can be adjusted according to the specific specifications of the vehicle 50 and the driving regulations (left-hand drive or right-hand drive) of each country for the vehicle 50. Furthermore, in the vehicle 50, the front sides of the front seats 52a and 52b are correspondingly provided with display objects 54a and 54b, and the front sides of the back seats 52c and 52d are correspondingly provided with display objects 54c and 54d. Among them, the display object 54a is, for example, an instrument cluster display disposed in the steering area on the front side of the vehicle 50 and facing the seat 52a as the driver's seat, and the display object 54b is, for example, a center information display (Center Information Display, CID) disposed in the aforementioned steering area and facing the seat 52b as the front passenger seat. Furthermore, the display objects 54c and 54d are, for example, rear seat entertainment (Rear Seat Entertainment, RSE) displays disposed on the back side of the backrests of the front seats 52a and 52b and facing the seats 52c and 52d. However, the above-mentioned display object 54 may also be a head-up display (Head-up Display, HUD) or the like, and may also refer to an application displayed in the above-mentioned various displays. And, although in Figure 1 In the example, each seat 52 is provided with a corresponding display object 54, but only display objects 54 corresponding to a portion of the seats 52 may be provided (for example, display objects 54c and 54d are omitted). The present invention does not limit the number and location of the seats 52, and does not limit the number, location, and type of display objects 54, which can be adjusted according to needs.

[0035] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the first detection component 110 is installed on the seat 52 or the safety belt (not shown) provided in the vehicle 50 to detect the seat 52 that the passenger is not sitting on. In the case where four seats 52a to 52d are provided, for example, four first detection components 110 are provided to respectively detect whether there are passengers in the seats 52a to 52d. Among them, the first detection component 110 is, for example, a sitting sensor installed on the seat cushion of the seat 52. As an example, the sitting sensor as the first detection component 110 is, for example, a weight sensor. When the sitting sensor as the first detection component 110 detects that there is a load exceeding a preset weight on the corresponding seat 52, it is determined that the passenger is sitting on the seat 52 corresponding to the sitting sensor. On the contrary, it is determined that the passenger is not sitting on the seat 52 corresponding to the sitting sensor. Alternatively, the first detection component 110 can also be a mobile sensor installed on a safety belt not shown, so as to determine whether a passenger is sitting on the corresponding seat 52 by whether the safety belt is used or not. Furthermore, although one first detection component 110 is used for each seat 52 to detect whether a passenger is seated, only some of the seats 52 may be provided with the first detection component 110. For example, the display state of the display object 54a corresponding to the seat 52a of the driver's seat is always maintained by default, so there is no need to provide the first detection component 110 on the seat 52a as a determination means. The present invention does not limit the number, location, and type of the first detection component 110, which can be adjusted according to needs.

[0036] In addition, in the present embodiment, the control component 120 is, for example, a control module such as a central control system or a processor mounted on the vehicle 50 (but not limited thereto). The control component 120 is electrically connected to the first detection component 110 and the display object 54, so that it can receive the detection result from the first detection component 110, and based on the detection result of the first detection component 110 (whether there are seats 52 where passengers are not sitting), the display object 54 facing the seat 52 where passengers are not sitting is processed to reduce visibility. For example, when only the driver is sitting on the seat 52a as the driver's seat, the display objects 54b to 54d facing the seats 52b to 52d where passengers are not sitting are processed to reduce visibility (but not limited thereto). In other words, for the display object 54 facing the seat 52 where passengers are not sitting, it is assumed that the display object 54 does not need to be used to display the screen to the passenger, so that such a display object 54 is processed to reduce visibility (for example, reduce display brightness, reduce display priority, reduce display frame rate, or turn off display) to reduce unnecessary power consumption. According to this, the vehicle control system 100 can effectively reduce the power consumption of the vehicle 50 used for displaying the object 54 .

[0037] Furthermore, in this embodiment, if Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown, the vehicle control system 100 also includes a second detection component 130. The second control component 130 is electrically connected to the control component 120, and detects the display object 54 that the passenger is not looking at. In addition, the control component 120 reduces the visibility of the display object 54 that faces the seat 52 where the passenger sits and is not looking at by the passenger based on the detection results of the first detection component 110 and the second detection component 130. Among them, the second detection component 130 includes a camera component 132 installed in the vehicle 50, an angle sensor 134 installed on the seat 52 where the passenger sits, and a handheld mobile device (not shown) of the passenger. The determination of the display object 54 that the passenger is not looking at is performed based on one of the camera component 132 detecting the passenger's line of sight, the tilt angle of the seat 52 where the passenger sits, and the use status of the handheld mobile device. For example, when the first detection component 110 detects that there are passengers sitting on the seats 52a and 52b, the second detection component 130 further detects whether the passengers sitting on the seats 52a and 52b are looking at the corresponding display objects 54a and 54b. When the camera component 132 as the second detection component 130 detects that the passenger's line of sight is not directed toward the corresponding display object 54a and 54b, or the angle sensor 134 as the second detection component 130 detects that the inclination angle of the seat 52a and 52b where the passenger is sitting exceeds a preset angle (for example, 135 degrees) and is in a supine state, it is determined that the passenger is not looking at the display object 54.

[0038] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, when the passenger sitting on the seat 52 is not looking at the display object 54 facing the seat 52, it can be assumed that the passenger has no need to use the display object 54 facing the seat 52, and thus the display object 54 facing the seat 52 on which the passenger is sitting and which the passenger is not looking at is also processed to reduce visibility (for example, reduce display brightness, reduce display priority, reduce display frame rate, or turn off display) to further reduce unnecessary power consumption. Therefore, the second detection component 130 can optimize the determination conditions for controlling display performance. Furthermore, depending on the characteristics of the seat 52, different second detection components 130 can be used for detection. For example, the front seats 52a and 52b can be tilted backwards, so the aforementioned angle sensor 134 can be set between the seat cushion and the seat back of the seats 52a and 52b (such as Figure 1 ), to detect the inclination angle of the seat backs of the seats 52a and 52b relative to the seat cushions. Alternatively, a camera component 132 (such as Figure 1As shown in the figure, the second detection component 130 is used to detect the sight direction of the passengers sitting on the seats 52a and 52b. Accordingly, the seats 52c and 52d in the back row can use the passenger's handheld mobile device as the second detection component 130 to detect whether the passenger is looking at the display objects 54c and 54d. Alternatively, the second detection component 130 may not be used as a determination means for some of the seats 52 (such as seats 52c and 52d). The present invention does not limit the number, setting position, type, and whether the second detection component 130 is set, and it can be adjusted according to needs.

[0039] In addition, in this embodiment, although it is preferred that the control unit 120 performs a process of reducing the visibility of the display object 54 facing the seat 52 where the passenger is sitting and the passenger is not looking at it, as described above, an exclusion condition can be set based on safety considerations. As an example, in the case of issuing a warning or notification to the passenger through the display object 54, the control unit 120 performs a process of improving the visibility of the display object 54 facing the seat 52 where the passenger is sitting and the passenger is not looking at it (for example, increasing the display brightness, increasing the display priority, increasing the display frame rate, or turning on the display). For example, in the case where the first detection unit 110 detects that the passenger (driver) is sitting on the seat 52a and the second detection unit 120 detects that the passenger is not looking at the display object 54a, even if the display object 54a has been processed to reduce the visibility, when the display object 54a is used to issue a warning or notification to the passenger, the control unit 120 immediately performs a process of improving the visibility of the display object 54a to attract the passenger to look at the display object 54a, thereby allowing the passenger to receive the warning or notification through the display object 54a more immediately. It can be seen that the vehicle control system 100 does not blindly reduce the visibility of the display object 54, but can make more appropriate adjustments according to the actual situation. However, the present invention does not limit the type and setting of the exclusion condition of the visibility reduction process, which can be adjusted according to needs.

[0040] In addition, in the present embodiment, the aforementioned process of reducing visibility and the process of improving visibility refer to changing the visibility of the display object 54. Among them, the process of visibility includes changing the display brightness, changing the display priority, changing the display frame rate, or changing whether to display or not. That is, the aforementioned process of reducing visibility is, for example, reducing the display brightness, reducing the display priority, reducing the display frame rate, or turning off the display, and the aforementioned process of improving visibility is, for example, increasing the display brightness, increasing the display priority, increasing the display frame rate, or turning on the display. It can be seen from this that the process of visibility is not just turning on or off the display, but can also start from changing the display brightness, display priority, and display frame rate. For example, for the display object 54 facing the seat 52 where the passenger is not sitting, turning off the display is used as a process of reducing visibility, and for the display object 54 facing the seat 52 where the passenger is sitting and the passenger is not looking at it, reducing the display brightness is used as a process of reducing visibility (but not limited to this). In this way, the vehicle control system 100 can more effectively reduce the power consumption of the vehicle 50 applied to the display object 54. However, the present invention does not limit the type (ie, implementation) of the visibility processing, which can be adjusted according to needs.

[0041] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, when the display brightness is changed as the visibility processing, the change range of the display brightness is adjusted in accordance with the environment in which the vehicle 50 is located. As an example, for example, the environment in which the vehicle 50 is located is daytime or nighttime as a means of determination. Since it is difficult for passengers to detect the change in the display brightness of the display object 54 when the external brightness is high during the daytime, it is preferred that the reduction range of the display brightness during the daytime can be set to be greater than the reduction range of the display brightness during the nighttime. For example, during the daytime, the display object 54 facing the seat 52 where the passenger is not sitting is processed to reduce visibility, so that its display brightness is reduced from 100% to 20% (reduction range is 80%), and at night, the display object 54 facing the seat 52 where the passenger is not sitting is processed to reduce visibility, so that its display brightness is reduced from 100% to 50% (reduction range is 50%). In this way, the vehicle control system 100 can more effectively reduce the power consumption of the vehicle 50 applied to the display object 54. However, the environment in which the vehicle 50 is located is not limited to the day and night listed, but may also be conditions related to the external brightness, such as the weather around the vehicle 50, the intensity of sunlight, the presence or absence of obstructions (for example, in a tunnel), or other conditions. The present invention is not limited to this and can be adjusted according to needs.

[0042] In addition, in the present embodiment, when the display frame rate is changed as the visibility processing, the display frame rate is not reduced when the display object 54 is playing a video. As an example, when the display object 54 displays static content such as text or images (for example, a dashboard), reducing the display frame rate does not affect the display performance of the display object 54. Accordingly, when the display object 54 is playing a video, even if the passenger is not looking at the display object 54 (for example, the passenger's line of sight is toward the outside of the vehicle 50, or the inclination angle of the seat 52 is adjusted to exceed the preset angle and is in a supine state), the passenger can also receive the sound of the video played by the display object 54 through hearing. In this case, if the display frame rate of the display object 54 that is playing a video is reduced, the performance of playing the video is reduced. In this way, the vehicle control system 100 can be adjusted more appropriately according to the actual situation. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and it can be adjusted according to needs.

[0043] Here, one of the operation procedures of the vehicle control system 100 of this embodiment is provided to facilitate the description of a specific example of the above-mentioned operation conditions. Figure 3 In this embodiment, first, in step S01, the first detection component 110 is used to detect whether a passenger is sitting on the seat 52. If the passenger is not sitting on the seat 52 (step S01, no), the control component 120 is used to reduce the visibility of the display object 54 facing the seat 52, so that the display object 54 enters the non-display mode M1 (i.e., the display is turned off). If the passenger is sitting on the seat 52 (step S01, yes), then step S02 is entered, and the angle sensor 134 as the second detection component 130 is used to detect whether the inclination angle of the seat 52 where the passenger is sitting is less than a preset angle. If the inclination angle of the seat 52 where the passenger is sitting exceeds the preset angle (step S02, no), the control component 120 is used to reduce the visibility of the display object 54 facing the seat 52, so that the display object 54 enters the non-display mode M1 (i.e., the display is turned off). If the tilt angle of the seat 52 occupied by the passenger is less than the preset angle (step S02, yes), the process proceeds to step S03 to determine whether the display object 54 facing the seat 52 is playing a video. Whether the display object 54 is playing a video can be determined by the signal sent by the display object 54 to the central control system or processor or other control module as the control component 120, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0044] Next, in step S03, if the display object 54 is playing a movie (step S03, yes), the display object 54 facing the seat 52 is processed to improve visibility through the control component 120, so that the display object 54 enters the normal display mode M2 ​​(i.e., normal display brightness, normal display frame rate, or open display, etc.). If the display object 54 is not playing a movie (step S03, no), then enter step S04 to determine whether the display object 54 is issuing a warning or notification. The determination of whether the display object 54 is issuing a warning or notification can be obtained from the signal sent by the display object 54 to the control module such as the central control system or processor of the control component 120, but it is not limited to this. If the display object 54 is issuing a warning or notification (step S04, yes), the display object 54 is processed to improve visibility through the control component 120, so that the display object 54 enters the normal display mode M2. If the display object 54 does not issue a warning or notification (step S04, no), the process proceeds to step S05, and the camera component 132 as the second detection component 130 detects whether the passenger sitting on the seat 52 is looking at the display object 54. If the passenger is looking at the display object 54 (step S05, yes), the control component 120 performs a process of improving the visibility of the display object 54, so that the display object 54 enters the normal display mode M2. If the passenger is not looking at the display object 54 (step S05, no), the control component 120 performs a process of reducing the visibility of the display object 54, so that the display object 54 enters the low display mode M3 (i.e., low display brightness, low display frame rate, etc.).

[0045] The above-mentioned operation process of the vehicle control system 100 determining the display mode (one of the non-display mode M1, the normal display mode M2, and the low display mode M3) of the display object 54 according to the conditions such as whether the passenger is sitting on the seat 52 and the display content of the display object 54 facing the seat 52 where the passenger is sitting can be determined for each seat 52a to 52d respectively to determine the display mode of each display object 54a to 54d. In addition, the determination cycle of the vehicle control system 100 for determining each seat 52a to 52d and each display object 54a to 54d can be set according to the needs. In addition, the above-mentioned process first determines the conditions under which the display can be directly turned off (such as detecting the seat 52 that the passenger is not sitting on, detecting the seat 52 that the passenger is sitting on and the tilt angle exceeds the preset angle, etc.), then determines the conditions under which the display performance must be maintained (such as playing a video, issuing a warning or notification, the passenger is looking at the display object 54, etc.), and then classifies the remaining situations as the conditions that can be processed to reduce visibility. However, the above process is only an example, and the order of the determination conditions and the specific contents of the determination conditions can be adjusted according to the needs, and the present invention is not limited thereto. In this way, the vehicle control system 100 can effectively reduce the power consumption of the vehicle 50 for displaying the object 54 .

[0046] In summary, the vehicle control system of the present invention detects seats that are not occupied by passengers through the first detection component, and processes the display objects facing the seats that are not occupied by passengers to reduce visibility through the control component. That is to say, for the display objects facing the seats that are not occupied by passengers, it is assumed that there is no need to use the display objects to display images to passengers, so such display objects are processed to reduce visibility (for example, reduce display brightness, reduce display priority, reduce display frame rate, or turn off display) to reduce unnecessary power consumption. Preferably, the vehicle control system also detects display objects that are not looked at by passengers through the second detection component, and processes the display objects that are facing the seats that are occupied by passengers and are not looked at by passengers to reduce visibility through the control component, so as to further reduce unnecessary power consumption. Accordingly, the vehicle control system of the present invention can effectively reduce the power consumption of the vehicle applied to display objects.

[0047] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or replace some or all of the technical features therein with equivalents. However, these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A vehicle control system, suitable for installation in a vehicle, and characterized in that include: A first detection component is installed on a seat or a seat belt provided in the vehicle to detect a seat that is not occupied by a passenger; as well as The control unit performs a process of reducing the visibility of the display object facing the seat where the passenger is not sitting based on the detection result of the first detection unit.

2. The vehicle control system according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: a second detection component, detecting a display object that the passenger is not looking at, and The control unit performs a process of reducing visibility of a display object that faces the seat in which the passenger is seated and is not being looked at by the passenger, based on the detection results of the first detection unit and the second detection unit.

3. The vehicle control system according to claim 2, characterized in that: When the passenger is warned or notified by the display object, the control unit performs a process to increase visibility of the display object that faces the seat on which the passenger is sitting and is not being watched by the passenger.

4. The vehicle control system according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The second detection component includes one of a camera installed in the vehicle, an angle sensor installed in the seat where the passenger sits, and a handheld mobile device of the passenger. The determination of the display object that the passenger is not looking at is performed based on one of the line of sight detection of the passenger by the camera component, the tilt angle of the seat on which the passenger sits, and the use status of the handheld mobile device.

5. The vehicle control system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The visibility processing includes changing the display brightness, changing the display priority, changing the display frame rate, or changing whether to display.

6. The vehicle control system according to claim 5, characterized in that: When the visibility is processed by changing the display brightness, the change range of the display brightness is adjusted according to the environment in which the vehicle is located.

7. The vehicle control system according to claim 5, characterized in that: When the visibility is processed by changing the display frame rate, the display frame rate is not reduced when the display object is playing a movie.

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