Micro LED with integrated transport vehicle sensor

By integrating micro LEDs and sensors in transport vehicles, real-time analysis of sensor data and dynamic light output adjustment are realized, solving the problem that sensors are only used for notifications, and improving the intelligence and safety of vehicle control.

CN120345348APending Publication Date: 2025-07-18VUEREAL INC
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202380083929.2
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Applications(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Priority Date
2022-12-23
Filing Date
2023-12-22
Publication Date
2025-07-18

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

In the prior art, sensors are mainly used in transport vehicles for notifications or alarms, and rarely perform actions based on collected data, forcing the driver to make decisions when controlling the vehicle.

Method used

Integrate micro LEDs with multiple vehicle sensors, analyze sensor data through memory and processors, determine whether micro LEDs need to perform actions, and transmit signals to adjust or change the light output.

Benefits of technology

Real-time analysis of sensor data and dynamic light output adjustment are realized, improving the intelligence and safety of vehicle control.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

The present disclosure provides for integrating micro-LEDs with vehicle sensors, wherein a micro-LED unit includes a substrate, a plurality of micro-LEDs, a memory, a processor, a plurality of vehicle sensors, and a sensor module. The vehicle sensors collect sensor data, and the sensor module stores the data in a memory and analyzes the sensor data to determine if there is an action to be performed by the plurality of micro-LEDs, and transmits a signal to adjust, alter, or alter light generated by the micro-LEDs.
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Description

[0001] Background Art and Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure generally relates to the integration of micro-LEDs (Micro-Light Emitting Diodes) with transportation vehicle sensors.

[0003] The transportation industry is any industry, business, or institution that operates by transporting people or property from one place to another by rail, road, air, or water, and all operations and services related thereto; and also includes the storage or warehousing of goods or property, as well as the repair, parking, rental, maintenance, or cleaning of vehicles.

[0004] Currently, multiple sensors are integrated with vehicles to control notifications or alerts or to automatically generate notifications or alerts to the driver.

[0005] In addition, sensors typically generate alerts to the driver but rarely take actions based on the collected data, forcing the driver to make decisions while controlling the vehicle.

[0006] Therefore, there is a need in the prior art to integrate micro-LEDs with transportation vehicle sensors. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The present invention relates to a method of using a micro-LED unit integrated with vehicle sensors in a vehicle, the method comprising: having a substrate; having a plurality of micro-LEDs; having a plurality of vehicle sensors; having a memory; having a processor; and having a sensor module, wherein the plurality of vehicle sensors collect sensor data, the sensor module stores the data in the memory, and analyzes the sensor data to determine whether there is an action to be performed by the plurality of micro-LEDs, and transmits a signal to adjust, change, or alter the light generated by the micro-LEDs. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008] Figure 1: Illustrates the integration of transfer micro-devices and electro-optical thin film devices in a hybrid structure according to an embodiment.

[0009] Figure 2: Illustrates a micro-LED integrated with a sensor according to an embodiment.

[0010] Figure 3: Illustrates a micro-LED unit integrated with a rearview camera according to an embodiment.

[0011] Figure 4: Illustrates a micro-LED unit integrated with a touch sensor according to an embodiment.

[0012] Figure 5: Illustrates a micro-LED unit integrated with a headlight range sensor according to an embodiment.

[0013] Figure 6: Illustrates a micro-LED unit integrated with a depth sensor according to an embodiment. Detailed Description

[0014] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the several views, and in which example embodiments are shown. However, the embodiments of the claims may be implemented in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. The examples set forth herein are non-limiting examples and are merely examples among other possible examples. The present disclosure relates to structures, systems, and methods for using micro-LEDs and a plurality of sensors in a vehicle.

[0015] Figure 1AAn example of integrating a transfer microdevice 106 with an electro-optic thin film device 112 in a hybrid structure is shown. This is an example of an integrated micro-LED chip that is later picked and placed into a patch array. According to US20160218143A1 - Microdevice integration into system substrate, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that there are many ways to form micro-LED chips and integrate these micro-LED chips in a patch array. In a plurality of hybrid structure embodiments, a receiver substrate 102 and contact pads 104, an array of microdevices 106 are transferred onto the receiver substrate and the contact pads, and a thin film electro-optic device is integrated into the receiver substrate and the contact pads. The microdevice 106 can be transferred and bonded to the bonding pads 104 of the receiver substrate 100. In one case, a dielectric layer 108 is formed over the substrate 102 to cover the exposed electrodes and conductive layers. Lithography and etching can be used to pattern the dielectric layer 108. Then, a conductive layer 110 is deposited and patterned to form the bottom electrode of the thin film electro-optic device 112. If there is no risk of unwanted coupling between the bottom electrode 110 and other conductive layers in the receiver substrate, the dielectric layer 108 can be eliminated. However, this dielectric layer can also be used as a planarization layer to provide better fabrication of the electro-optic device 112. A dam layer 114 is deposited on the substrate 102 to cover the edges of the electrodes 110 and the microdevices 106. Then, the thin film electro-optic device 112 is formed over the structure. An organic light-emitting diode (OLED) device is an example of a thin film electro-optic device that can be formed using different techniques such as, but not limited to, shadow masking, lithography, and printing patterning. Finally, if needed, a top electrode 118 of the electro-optic thin film device 112 is deposited and patterned. In embodiments where the thickness of the microdevice 106 is significantly higher, cracks or other structural problems may occur in the bottom electrode 110. In these embodiments, a planarization layer can be used in combination with or without the dielectric layer 108 to solve this problem. In another embodiment, the microdevice 106 can have a device electrode 116. This electrode can be shared among other microdevices 106 in the system substrate. In this case, a planarization layer (if present) and / or a dam structure 114 cover the electrode 116 to avoid any short circuit between the electro-optic device 112 and the device electrode 116.

[0016] Figure 1BIllustrated is a structure of sharing a device among several pixels (or sub-pixels) after post-processing to deposit a common electrode and a color conversion layer. Here, the micro-device 106 is not fully patterned, but the horizontal condition is engineered such that the contact pads 104 define the areas allocated to each pixel. A system substrate 102 with contact pads 104 and a donor substrate with micro-devices 106. After the micro-devices 106 are transferred to the system substrate 102, post-processing can be performed, such as depositing a common electrode 120, a color conversion layer 122, color filters, etc. However, the methods described in this disclosure and other possible methods can be used. After forming the active regions, the described color conversion layer can be added to the pixel (or sub-pixel) active regions. If the active regions of the pixels (or sub-pixels) are covered by a reflective layer, this can provide a higher fill factor and higher performance and avoid color leakage from the side pixels (or sub-pixels). In another embodiment, the micro-devices 106 are grown on a buffer / sacrificial layer.

[0017] Figure 2( Figure 2A and Figure 2B)Illustrates an implementation of a micro-LED integrated with a sensor. The basic sensor module 201 can be a micro-LED unit integrated with a sensor to perform actions of the micro-LED unit based on the collected sensor data. The basic sensor module 201 may include a substrate 202, a micro-LED patch 204, a sensor patch 206, a memory 208, a basic sensor module 210, a bus 212, and a processor 214. The substrate 202 can be made of glass, silicon, plastic, or any other common material. The substrate 202 may also have active electronic components, such as but not limited to transistors, resistors, capacitors, or any other electronic components commonly used in a system substrate. In some cases, the substrate 202 can be a substrate 202 having electrical signal rows and electrical signal columns. In one example, the substrate 202 can be a sapphire substrate on which an LED layer is monolithically grown on top, and the substrate 202 can be a backplane having a circuit for deriving micro-LED devices. In some implementations, the substrate 202 can be a flexible or rigid substrate 202. The micro-LED patch 204 includes a plurality of arrays of micro light-emitting diodes (LEDs), where each micro-LED serves as a pixel and can be driven to emit light. The micro-LEDs include a number of micro-sized LEDs that emit light autonomously for each display pixel. The micro-LED is a modular technology. For example, the panel consists of a series of tiny red, green, and blue LEDs and is connected together to form a larger whole. In some implementations, the micro-LED patch 204 can be produced in various sizes to increase the width or length of the micro-LED patch 204. The micro-LED patch 204 may include a plurality of connectors, which can be electrochemical devices for forming electrical connections between the plurality of micro-LED patches that form the micro-LED patch 204. The connectors can receive power, data signals, information instructions, etc. from a ribbon connector to power and control each of the micro-LEDs in the micro-LED patch 204 that makes up the micro-LED unit. The sensor patch 206 can be a sensor that collects data to indicate which actions of the micro-LED patch 204 need to be performed, such as turning on or off, adjusting brightness, dimming brightness, changing or altering the color of the micro-LED patch 204. The sensor patch 206 can be a plurality of sensors, such as motion sensors, temperature sensors, humidity sensors, cameras, microphones, radio frequency receivers, thermal imagers, radar devices, lidar devices, ultrasonic devices, speakers, wearable devices, etc. The memory 208 may include but is not limited to fixed (hard) drives, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, optical discs, compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), magneto-optical discs, semiconductor memories (such as ROM, random access memory (RAM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM)), flash memories, magnetic cards or optical cards, or another type of medium / machine-readable medium suitable for storing electronic instructions. The memory 208 may include modules implemented as programs.The basic sensor module 210 can store the data collected from the sensor patch 206, extract the data, analyze the data, and determine an action for the micro-LED patch 204, which is transmitted to the processor 214 to activate or deactivate the micro-LED patch 204. For example, the basic sensor module 210 can continuously poll to receive data from sensors such as sensors for detecting whether it is dark outside. The basic sensor module 210 receives sensor data from the sensor patch 206, such as that the sensor has detected that it is dark outside. The basic sensor module 210 stores the sensor data in the memory 208, such as the sensor that has recorded that it is dark outside. The basic sensor module 210 extracts the sensor data from the memory 208 and determines whether there is an action required for the micro-LED patch 204. For example, the sensor can be surrounded by micro-LED units that serve as the headlights or headlamps of a vehicle, and once the sensor detects that it is dark outside, the basic sensor module 210 transmits a signal to the processor 214 to activate the micro-LED units that serve as the headlights or headlamps of the vehicle to illuminate the road for the driver. The bus controller 212 can be a computer bus used by the vehicle CPU to communicate with devices contained within a computer via a physical connection such as a cable or a printed circuit. The vehicle CPU sends various control signals to components and devices to send control signals to the CPU using the control bus. One of the main purposes of the bus is to minimize the lines required for communication. The bus controller 212 can be bidirectional and helps the CPU synchronize control signals to internal devices and external components. The bus controller includes interrupt lines, byte enable lines, read / write signals, and status lines. The processor 214 can be configured to decode and execute any instructions received from one or more other electronic devices or servers. The processor 214 can include one or more general-purpose processors (e.g., or Advanced Micro (AMD) microprocessors) and / or one or more dedicated processors (e.g., digital signal processors or system-on-chip (SOC) field-programmable gate array (FPGA) processors). The processor 214 can be configured to execute one or more computer-readable program instructions (such as program instructions) to perform any of the functions described in this specification.

[0018] Figure 3( Figures 3A to 3C)Illustrates an implementation of a micro-LED unit integrated with a rearview camera. The rearview camera module 301 can be a micro-LED unit integrated with a rearview camera to perform the actions of the micro-LED unit based on the collected sensor data. The rearview camera module 301 may include a substrate 302, a micro-LED patch 304, a rearview camera patch 306, a memory 308, a rearview camera module 310, a bus 312, and a processor 314. The substrate 302 can be made of glass, silicon, plastic, or any other common material. The substrate 302 may also have active electronic components, such as but not limited to transistors, resistors, capacitors, or any other electronic components commonly used in a system substrate. In some cases, the substrate 302 can be a substrate 302 with electrical signal rows and electrical signal columns. In one example, the substrate 302 can be a sapphire substrate on which an LED layer is monolithically grown on top, and the substrate 302 can be a backplane having a circuit for deriving micro-LED devices. In some implementations, the substrate 302 can be a flexible or rigid substrate 302. The micro-LED patch 304 includes a plurality of arrays of micro light-emitting diodes (LEDs), where each micro-LED serves as a pixel and can be driven to emit light. The micro-LEDs include a number of micro-sized LEDs that emit light autonomously for each display pixel. The micro-LED is a modular technology. For example, the panel consists of a series of tiny red, green, and blue LEDs that are connected together to form a larger whole. In some implementations, the micro-LED patch 304 can be produced in a variety of sizes to increase the width or length of the micro-LED patch 304. The micro-LED patch 304 may include a plurality of connectors NNN, which can be electrochemical devices for forming electrical connections between the plurality of micro-LED patches that form the micro-LED patch 304. The connectors can receive power, data signals, information instructions, etc. from a ribbon connector to power and control each of the micro-LEDs in the micro-LED patch 304 that makes up the micro-LED unit. The rearview camera patch 306 can be an integrated vehicle rearview camera having the micro-LED patch 304. The rearview camera patch 306 can be a dedicated camera attached to the rear of the vehicle to assist with backing up, reduce the rear blind spot, and avoid backing collisions. The rearview camera patch 306 can be surrounded by a plurality of micro-LED patches 304 to provide additional illumination and improve the driver's image. The micro-LED patch 304 can be of various shapes and sizes to increase the effectiveness of the rearview camera patch 306, such as circular, square, or rectangular micro-LED units, where the rearview camera patch 306 is located in the middle of the micro-LED unit. The rearview camera patch 306 can use the same connectors, substrate 302, memory 308, bus 312, and processor 314 as the micro-LED patch 304.The memory 308 may include, but is not limited to, fixed (hard) drives, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, optical disks, compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) and magneto-optical disks, semiconductor memories (such as ROM, random access memory (RAM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM)), flash memories, magnetic cards or optical cards, or another type of medium / machine-readable medium suitable for storing electronic instructions. The memory 308 may include modules implemented as programs. The reverse camera module 310 may store data collected from the reverse camera patch 306, extract the data, analyze the data, and determine actions for the micro-LED patch 304, which are transmitted to the processor 314 to activate or deactivate the micro-LED patch 304. For example, the reverse camera module 310 may continuously poll to receive data from the reverse camera patch 306, such as video or images collected by the reverse camera patch 306. The reverse camera module 310 receives sensor data from the reverse camera patch 306, such as video or images collected by the reverse camera patch 306. The reverse camera module 310 stores the sensor data (such as images collected by the reverse camera module 310) in the memory 308. The reverse camera module 310 extracts the sensor data from the memory 308 and determines whether there are actions required for the micro-LED patch 304. For example, the reverse camera module 310 may analyze the quality of the images recorded by the reverse camera patch 306 to determine whether the micro-LED patch 304 needs to generate additional light to improve image quality, generate less light to improve image quality, change the color of the generated light to improve image quality, etc. The reverse camera module 310 transmits signals to the processor 314 to allow the micro-LED patch 304 to generate appropriate light to improve image quality. The bus controller 312 may be a computer bus used by the vehicle CPU to communicate with devices contained within a computer via a physical connection such as a cable or printed circuit. The vehicle CPU sends various control signals to components and devices to send control signals to the CPU using the control bus. One of the main purposes of the bus is to minimize the number of lines required for communication. The bus controller 312 may be bidirectional and help the CPU synchronize control signals to internal devices and external components. The bus controller includes interrupt lines, byte enable lines, read / write signals, and status lines. The processor 314 may be configured to decode and execute any instructions received from one or more other electronic devices or servers. The processor 314 may include one or more general-purpose processors (e.g., or Advanced Micro (AMD) microprocessors) and / or one or more dedicated processors (e.g., digital signal processors or System-on-chip (SOC) field programmable gate array (FPGA) processor). The processor 314 can be configured to execute one or more computer-readable program instructions (such as program instructions) to perform any of the functions described in this specification.

[0019] Figure 4( Figures 4A to 4C)Illustrates an implementation of a micro-LED unit integrated with a touch sensor. The touch control module 401 can be a micro-LED unit integrated with a touch sensor to perform actions of the micro-LED unit based on the collected sensor data. The touch control module 401 may include a substrate 402, a micro-LED patch 404, a touch sensor 406, a memory 408, a touch control module 410, a bus 412, and a processor 414. The substrate 402 can be made of glass, silicon, plastic, or any other common material. The substrate 402 may also have active electronic components, such as but not limited to transistors, resistors, capacitors, or any other electronic components commonly used in a system substrate. In some cases, the substrate 402 can be a substrate 402 having electrical signal rows and electrical signal columns. In one example, the substrate 402 can be a sapphire substrate on which an LED layer is monolithically grown on top, and the substrate 402 can be a backplane having a circuit for deriving micro-LED devices. In some implementations, the substrate 402 can be a flexible or rigid substrate 402. The micro-LED patch 404 includes a plurality of arrays of micro light-emitting diodes (LEDs), where each micro-LED serves as a pixel and can be driven to emit light. The micro-LEDs include a number of micro-sized LEDs that emit light autonomously for each display pixel. The micro-LED is a modular technology. For example, the panel consists of a series of tiny red, green, and blue LEDs and is connected together to form a larger whole. In some implementations, the micro-LED patch 404 can be produced in various sizes to increase the width or length of the micro-LED patch 404. The micro-LED patch 404 may include a plurality of connectors, which can be electrochemical devices for forming electrical connections between the plurality of micro-LED patches that form the micro-LED patch 404. The connectors can receive power, data signals, information instructions, etc. from a ribbon connector to power and control each of the micro-LEDs in the micro-LED patch 404 that makes up the micro-LED unit. The touch sensor 406 can be an electronic sensor for detecting and recording physical touches. The touch sensor 406 can be a device that measures information generated by physical interaction with its environment. The touch sensor 406 can be a data acquisition device or transducer designed to sense a variety of characteristics via direct physical contact. The touch sensor 406 can be surrounded by a plurality of micro-LED patches 404 to provide additional lighting for the driver. The micro-LED patch 404 can have various shapes and sizes to increase the effectiveness of the touch sensor 406, such as circular, square, or rectangular micro-LED units, with the touch sensor 406 located in the middle, top, bottom, or edge of the micro-LED unit. The touch sensor 406 can use the same connectors, substrate 402, memory 408, bus 412, and processor 414 as the micro-LED patch 404.The memory 408 may include, but is not limited to, fixed (hard) drives, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, optical disks, compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) and magneto-optical disks, semiconductor memories (such as ROM, random access memory (RAM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM)), flash memory, magnetic or optical cards, or another type of medium / machine-readable medium suitable for storing electronic instructions. The memory 408 may include modules implemented as programs. The touch control module 410 may store data collected from the touch sensor 406, extract data, analyze data, and determine actions for the micro-LED patch 404, which are transmitted to the processor 414 to activate or deactivate the micro-LED patch 404. For example, the touch control module 410 may continuously poll to receive data from the rearview camera patch 406, such as data determining whether the touch sensor 406 has been touched by a user. The touch control module 410 receives sensor data from the touch sensor 406, such as data determining whether the touch sensor 406 has been touched by a user. The touch control module 410 stores the sensor data (such as an image collected by the touch control module 410) in the memory 408. The touch control module 410 extracts the sensor data from the memory 408 and determines whether there are actions required for the micro-LED patch 404. For example, the touch control module 410 may determine whether the touch sensor 406 has been touched by a user to activate the internal micro-LED patch 404 or unit or panel to illuminate the vehicle interior. In some embodiments, there may be multiple touch sensors 406 in series, such as four touch sensors 406 in a row that can be individually swiped or touched, which will determine the brightness of the micro-LED patch 404. For example, touching only the first touch sensor 416A will produce a very dim light from the micro-LED patch 404, but if the user touches all four touch sensors 416A, 416B, 41C, and 416D or touches the fourth touch sensor 416D in series, then a bright light will be produced by the micro-LED patch 404. The touch control module 410 transmits a signal to the processor 414 to allow the micro-LED patch 404 to produce appropriate light. The bus controller 412 may be a computer bus used by the vehicle CPU to communicate with devices within a computer via physical connections such as cables or printed circuits. The vehicle CPU sends various control signals to components and devices to send control signals to the CPU using the control bus. One of the main purposes of the bus is to minimize the number of lines required for communication. The bus controller 412 may be bidirectional and help the CPU synchronize control signals to internal devices and external components. The bus controller includes interrupt lines, byte enable lines, read / write signals, and status lines. The processor 414 may be configured to decode and execute any instructions received from one or more other electronic devices or servers. The processor 414 may include one or more general-purpose processors (e.g., or Advanced Micro (AMD) microprocessors) and / or one or more dedicated processors (e.g., digital signal processors or system-on-a-chip (SOC) field programmable gate array (FPGA) processors). The processor 414 may be configured to execute one or more computer-readable program instructions (such as program instructions) to perform any of the functions described in this specification.

[0020] Figure 5 illustrates an implementation of a micro-LED unit integrated with a headlight range sensor. The basic headlight module 501 can be a micro-LED unit integrated with the headlight range sensor 506 to perform the actions of the micro-LED unit based on the collected sensor data. The basic headlight module 501 may include a substrate 502, a micro-LED patch 504, a headlight range sensor 506, a memory 508, a headlight range module 510, a bus 512, and a processor 514. The substrate 502 can be made of glass, silicon, plastic, or any other common material. The substrate 502 may also have active electronic components, such as but not limited to transistors, resistors, capacitors, or any other electronic components commonly used in a system substrate. In some cases, the substrate 502 can be a substrate 502 having electrical signal rows and electrical signal columns. In one example, the substrate 502 can be a sapphire substrate on which an LED layer is monolithically grown on top, and the substrate 502 can be a backplane having a circuit for deriving micro-LED devices. In some implementations, the substrate 502 can be a flexible or rigid substrate 502. The micro-LED patch 504 includes a plurality of arrays of micro light-emitting diodes (LEDs), where each micro-LED serves as a pixel and can be driven to emit light. The micro-LEDs include a number of micro-sized LEDs that emit light autonomously for each display pixel. The micro-LED is a modular technology. For example, the panel consists of a series of tiny red, green, and blue LEDs and is connected together to form a larger whole. In some implementations, the micro-LED patch 504 can be produced in various sizes to increase the width or length of the micro-LED patch 504. The micro-LED patch 504 may include a plurality of connectors, which can be electrochemical devices for forming electrical connections between the plurality of micro-LED patches that form the micro-LED patch 504. The connectors can receive power, data signals, information instructions, etc. from a ribbon connector to power and control each of the micro-LEDs in the micro-LED patch 504 that makes up the micro-LED unit. The headlight range sensor 506 can detect the distance of the headlight by means of a camera (especially a CCD camera with downstream image processing software) and / or a laser sensor, an infrared sensor, and / or a radar sensor. These sensors detect the illumination range of the headlight generated by the vehicle. A charge-coupled device (CCD) is a photosensitive integrated circuit that captures images by converting photons into electrons. The CCD sensor decomposes the image elements into pixels. Each pixel is converted into a charge, and the intensity of the charge is related to the intensity of the light captured by that pixel.The memory 508 may include, but is not limited to, fixed (hard) drives, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, optical disks, compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), magneto-optical disks, semiconductor memories (such as ROM, random access memory (RAM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM)), flash memory, magnetic or optical cards, or another type of medium / machine-readable medium suitable for storing electronic instructions. The memory 508 may include modules implemented as programs. The headlight range sensor 506 may store data collected from the headlight range sensor 506, extract data, analyze data, and determine an action for the micro-LED patch 504, which is transmitted to the processor 514 to activate or deactivate the micro-LED patch 504. For example, the headlight range sensor 506 may continuously poll to receive data from the headlight range sensor 506, such as the illumination distance generated by the headlight. The headlight range sensor 506 receives sensor data (such as the illumination distance generated by the headlight) from the headlight range sensor 506. The headlight range sensor 506 stores the sensor data (such as an image collected by the headlight range sensor 506) in the memory 508. The headlight range sensor 506 extracts the sensor data from the memory 508 and determines whether the micro-LED patch 504 requires an action. For example, the headlight range sensor 506 may determine the distance that the headlight illuminated by the plurality of micro-LED patches illuminates the road. In some embodiments, the headlight range sensor 506 may detect oncoming vehicles and determine the range of light being generated by the headlight. If it is determined that the headlight is not generating sufficient light for the driver, such as only generating 10 feet of light, then the headlight range module 510 may transmit a signal to the processor 514 to increase the brightness of the micro-LED patch 504. In some embodiments, the range of light generated by the headlight may be a predetermined threshold in a database stored in the memory 508, and this range is compared with a database having the current speed of the vehicle to determine whether the headlight is generating sufficient illumination for the speed currently maintained by the vehicle, and the light generated by the micro-LED patch 504 may be increased or decreased. The headlight range sensor 506 transmits a signal to the processor 514 to allow the micro-LED patch 504 to increase or decrease the illumination of the headlight. The bus controller 512 may be a computer bus used by the vehicle CPU to communicate with devices within a computer via a physical connection such as a cable or printed circuit. The vehicle CPU sends various control signals to components and devices to send control signals to the CPU using the control bus. One of the main purposes of the bus is to minimize the lines required for communication. The bus controller 512 may be bidirectional and helps the CPU synchronize control signals to internal devices and external components. The bus controller includes interrupt lines, byte enable lines, read / write signals, and status lines.The processor 514 can be configured to decode any instructions received from one or more other electronic devices or servers and execute these instructions. The processor 514 can include one or more general-purpose processors (e.g., or Advanced Micro (AMD) microprocessors) and / or one or more dedicated processors (e.g., digital signal processors or system-on-a-chip (SOC) field-programmable gate array (FPGA) processors). The processor 514 can be configured to execute one or more computer-readable program instructions (such as program instructions) to perform any of the functions described in this specification.

[0021] Figure 6 illustrates an implementation of a micro-LED unit integrated with a depth sensor. The depth sensor module 601 may be a micro-LED unit integrated with a depth sensor 606 to perform the actions of the micro-LED unit based on the collected sensor data. The depth sensor module 601 may include a substrate 602, a micro-LED patch 604, a depth sensor patch 606, a memory 608, a depth sensor module 610, a bus 612, and a processor 614. The substrate 602 may be made of glass, silicon, plastic, or any other common material. The substrate 602 may also have active electronic components, such as but not limited to transistors, resistors, capacitors, or any other electronic components commonly used in a system substrate. In some cases, the substrate 602 may be a substrate 602 having electrical signal rows and electrical signal columns. In one example, the substrate 602 may be a sapphire substrate on which an LED layer is monolithically grown on top, and the substrate 602 may be a backplane having a circuit for deriving micro-LED devices. In some implementations, the substrate 602 may be a flexible or rigid substrate 602. The micro-LED patch 604 includes a plurality of arrays of micro light-emitting diodes (LEDs), where each micro-LED serves as a pixel and can be driven to emit light. The micro-LEDs include a number of micro-sized LEDs that emit light autonomously for each display pixel. The micro-LED is a modular technology. For example, the panel consists of a series of tiny red, green, and blue LEDs and is connected together to form a larger whole. In some implementations, the micro-LED patch 604 may be produced in a variety of sizes to increase the width or length of the micro-LED patch 604. The micro-LED patch 604 may include a plurality of connectors, which may be electrochemical devices for forming electrical connections between the plurality of micro-LED patches that form the micro-LED patch 604. The connectors may receive power, data signals, information instructions, etc. from a ribbon connector to power and control each of the micro-LEDs in the micro-LED patch 604 that makes up the micro-LED unit. The depth sensor patch 606 may be a plurality of ultrasonic transducers and ultrasonic sensors that generate or sense ultrasonic energy. The depth sensor patch 606 may include a transmitter that converts an electrical signal into ultrasonic waves, a receiver that converts ultrasonic waves into electrical signals, and / or a transceiver that can both transmit and receive ultrasonic waves. The depth sensor patch 606 may generate ultrasonic waves and receive ultrasonic waves, and depending on the time when the ultrasonic waves are transmitted (when the ultrasonic waves are received), the depth sensor patch may determine the distance of an object behind the vehicle. The memory 608 may include but not be limited to fixed (hard) drives, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, optical disks, compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), and magneto-optical disks, semiconductor memories (such as ROM, random access memory (RAM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM)), flash memory, magnetic cards, or optical cards, or another type of medium / machine-readable medium suitable for storing electronic instructions.Memory 608 may include modules implemented as programs. The depth sensor module 610 may store data collected from the depth sensor patch 606, extract the data, analyze the data, and determine actions for the micro-LED patch 604, which are transmitted to the processor 614 to activate or deactivate the micro-LED patch 604. For example, the depth sensor module 610 may continuously poll to receive data from the depth sensor patch 606, such as adjusting the light color to indicate the distance of the vehicle from an object. The depth sensor module 610 receives sensor data from the depth sensor patch 606, such as adjusting the color of the light to indicate the distance of the vehicle from an object. The depth sensor module 610 stores the sensor data (such as the distance between the vehicle and the object) in the memory 608. The depth sensor module 610 extracts the sensor data from the memory 608 and determines whether there are actions required for the micro-LED patch 604. For example, the depth sensor module 606 may determine the distance of the vehicle from an object, such as the object is 10 feet away from the vehicle. The signal transmitted to the processor 614 will generate yellow light for the micro-LED patch 604 to indicate to the driver that there is an object nearby. Or if there is an object less than two feet away from the vehicle, the signal transmitted to the processor 614 will generate flashing red light for the micro-LED patch 604 to indicate to the driver that there is an object very close to the vehicle. The depth sensor module 606 transmits a signal to the processor 614 to allow the micro-LED patch 604 to change the color generated by the micro-LED patch 604 to indicate the distance, make the light generated by the micro-LED patch 604 pulse, flash strongly for a short time, or stroboscopically flash dynamically to indicate the distance, etc. The bus controller 612 may be a computer bus used by the vehicle CPU to communicate with devices within a computer through physical connectors such as cables or printed circuits. The vehicle CPU sends various control signals to components and devices to send the control signals to the CPU using the control bus. One of the main purposes of the bus is to minimize the lines required for communication. The bus controller 612 may be bidirectional and help the CPU synchronize control signals to internal devices and external components. The bus controller includes interrupt lines, byte enable lines, read / write signals, and status lines. The processor 614 may be configured to decode and execute any instructions received from one or more other electronic devices or servers. The processor 614 may include one or more general-purpose processors (e.g., or Advanced Micro (AMD) microprocessors) and / or one or more dedicated processors (e.g., digital signal processors or system-on-chip (SOC) field-programmable gate array (FPGA) processors). The processor 614 may be configured to execute one or more computer-readable program instructions (such as program instructions) to perform any of the functions described in this specification.

[0022] The functions performed in the processes and methods can be implemented in different orders. Additionally, the steps and operations outlined are provided only as examples, and some steps and operations may be optional, can be combined into fewer steps and operations, or can be extended into additional steps and operations without departing from the essence of the disclosed embodiments.

Claims

1. A method for using a micro-LED unit integrated with vehicle sensors in a vehicle, the method comprising: having a substrate; having a plurality of micro-LEDs; having a plurality of vehicle sensors; having a memory; having a processor; and having a sensor module, wherein the plurality of vehicle sensors collect sensor data, the sensor module stores the data in the memory, analyzes the sensor data to determine whether there is an action to be performed by the plurality of micro-LEDs, and transmits a signal to adjust, change or alter the light generated by the micro-LEDs.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the sensor module is a micro-LED unit integrated with sensors to perform the actions of the micro-LED unit based on the collected sensor data.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the sensor module comprises the substrate, a micro-LED patch, a sensor patch, the memory, another sensor module, a bus and the processor.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the substrate is made of glass, silicon or plastic, and the substrate further has active electronic components, such as but not limited to transistors, resistors, capacitors or any other electronic components commonly used in a system substrate.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein the substrate has electrical signal rows and electrical signal columns.

6. The method according to claim 2, wherein the substrate is a sapphire substrate on which an LED layer is monolithically grown on top, and the substrate is a backplane having a circuit for deriving micro-LED devices.

7. The method according to claim 2, wherein the substrate is a flexible or rigid substrate.

8. The method according to claim 3, wherein the micro-LED patch comprises a plurality of arrays of micro light-emitting diodes (LEDs), wherein each micro-LED serves as a pixel and is driven to emit light.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the micro-LEDs include a number of micro-sized LEDs that emit light autonomously for each display pixel.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the panel is composed of a series of tiny red, green and blue micro-LEDs and is connected together to form a larger whole.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the micro-LED patch is produced in a variety of sizes to increase the width or length of the micro-LED patch.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the micro-LED patch includes a plurality of connectors, and the plurality of connectors are electrochemical devices for forming electrical connections between the plurality of micro-LEDs forming the micro-LED patch.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the connectors receive power, data signals, information instructions from a ribbon connector to power and control each of the micro-LEDs in the micro-LED patch.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the sensor patch is a sensor that collects data to indicate which actions of the micro-LED patch need to be performed, and the actions are such as turning on or off, adjusting the brightness, dimming the brightness, changing or altering the color of the micro-LED patch.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the sensor patch is a plurality of sensors, such as a motion sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a camera, a microphone, a radio frequency receiver, a thermal imager, a radar device, a lidar device, an ultrasonic device, a speaker, or a wearable device.

Citation Information

Patent Citations

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