Method for displaying a warning signal of a motor vehicle

Abstract

A method for displaying a warning signal of a motor vehicle comprises the steps of: detecting (201) the orientation of the eyes of a driver of the motor vehicle; displaying (205) a first warning symbol on an exterior rearview mirror of the motor vehicle if the driver's eyes are oriented towards the exterior rearview mirror (203). A system for displaying a warning signal of a motor vehicle and a motor vehicle comprising the system are also described. Figure to be published with the abstract: Fig 2

Description

Title of the invention: Method for displaying a warning signal of a motor vehicle Technical field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for displaying a warning signal of a motor vehicle, a computer program product, a system for displaying a warning signal of a motor vehicle and a motor vehicle comprising such a system. State of the art

[0002] Currently, a traffic safety problem concerns the coexistence on the traffic lanes of different types of vehicles and in particular between motor vehicles and two-wheelers. Here, a motor vehicle does not only mean a private passenger transport vehicle, but also vans, heavy goods vehicles, coaches, etc.

[0003] The problem is all the more acute because the two-wheeler does not have a bodywork, an accident very often involves bodily injury, or even the death of the two-wheeler driver, even at low or moderate speed.

[0004] Various devices are put in place to minimize this risk of accident, such as the display on the exterior rearview mirror of a signal when a vehicle is detected in the blind spot of the rearview mirror in order to alert the driver. In the same field, heavy goods vehicles must be equipped with a blind spot detection device which alerts, generally on the dashboard, of the presence of an object in the parts not visible to the driver surrounding the heavy goods vehicle.

[0005] However, these devices do not resolve all risky situations and it would therefore be desirable, in particular, to improve communication between the driver of the motor vehicle and the driver of the two-wheeler so that each of them understands the intentions of the other and can anticipate the development of their journey safely.

[0006] There is therefore a real need for a method and a system for displaying a warning signal of a motor vehicle which resolves all or part of the aforementioned drawbacks. Description of the invention

[0007] To resolve one or more of the drawbacks cited above, according to a first embodiment, a method for displaying a warning signal of a motor vehicle comprises the steps of: • detection of the orientation of the eyes of a driver of the motor vehicle; • display of a first alert symbol on an exterior rearview mirror of the motor vehicle if the driver's eyes are directed towards the exterior rearview mirror.

[0008] Thus, the driver of a second vehicle arriving in the field of vision of the rearview mirror can know whether he has been seen by the driver of the vehicle or not.

[0009] Particular characteristics or embodiments, usable alone or in combination are: • the method further comprises a step of detecting a second vehicle arriving from behind the vehicle in the direction of the rearview mirror; • the first symbol is displayed when, in addition, the second vehicle is detected; • a second alert symbol is displayed when the second vehicle is detected and the driver's eyes are not directed towards the rearview mirror; • the second vehicle is a two-wheeler; and / or • the first symbol is displayed for a predetermined duration.

[0010] In a second embodiment, a computer program product comprises program code instructions for implementing the above method when the program product is executed on a computer.

[0011] In a third embodiment, a system for displaying a warning signal of a motor vehicle comprises: • a sensor configured to detect the orientation of the eyes of a driver of the motor vehicle; connected to • a display configured to be placed on an exterior rearview mirror of the motor vehicle and to display a first alert symbol when the sensor detects that the driver's eyes are directed towards the exterior rearview mirror.

[0012] In a fourth embodiment, a motor vehicle comprises a system according to the third embodiment. Brief description of the figures

[0013] The invention will be better understood on reading the following description, given solely by way of example, and with reference to the appended figures in which: • [Fig.l] represents a top view of a vehicle comprising a system for displaying an alert signal according to one embodiment; • [Fig.2] represents a flowchart of a signal display process alert according to one embodiment. • [Fig.3] represents a top view of a vehicle comprising a system for displaying an alert signal according to a second embodiment; and • [Fig.4] represents a flowchart of a signal display process alert according to a second embodiment. Methods of implementation

[0014] The embodiments presented below refer to a motor vehicle, a car. However, those skilled in the art understand that these are also usable with other types of vehicle such as vans, vans, trucks, etc.

[0015] The terms “front”, “rear”, “top”, “bottom”, “transverse” are understood in relation to the vehicle.

[0016] With reference to [Fig.l], a motor vehicle 101 comprises a system for alerting a two-wheeler driver 103, arriving from the rear of the vehicle 101.

[0017] The alert system comprises a sensor 105, generally a smart camera, adapted to track the direction of gaze of the driver of the vehicle. This type of camera is known to those skilled in the art and is, for example, used to detect losses of vigilance of the driver.

[0018] The sensor 105 is connected, via a computer 107, to a display 109 located in one of the exterior rearview mirrors 111 of the vehicle 101. The display 109 is positioned in the rearview mirror 111 so that its display is visible to the driver of the two-wheeler 103. It comprises at least one off mode and one on mode during which it displays a symbol. This may be an LED display (for "Light-emitting diode" in English, or a light-emitting diode). The symbol may be a design or a color or a combination of the two. If it is a color, it is preferably chosen to be green.

[0019] The display 109 is configured to display the symbol when the sensor 105 detects that the driver's gaze has moved towards the rearview mirror 111.

[0020] The computer 107 establishes the connection between the sensor 105 and the display 109. It can, depending on the embodiment chosen, integrate all or part of the gaze tracking.

[0021] The computer 107 can be fully integrated into the sensor 105 in which case the latter has a direct connection with the display 109 or, for example, be integrated into the vehicle control system 101, such as an advanced driver assistance system, commonly called AD AS (for “Advanced driver-assistance Systems” according to English terminology) which makes all driving decisions based on the environment and the programmed destination. The motor vehicle is then referred to as an autonomous motor vehicle. But it can also be a centralized vehicle management system including, or not, driving aids.

[0022] The transfer of data between the different elements is preferably carried out by a CAN (for “Controller Area Network” in English) or LIN (for “Local Interconnect Network” in English) type data bus.

[0023] The operation of the system is as follows, [Fig.2].

[0024] The sensor 105 continuously analyzes, step 201, the driver's gaze.

[0025] When it detects that the gaze is directed towards the rearview mirror 111, step 203, it sends a signal to the display 109 so that the latter lights up the symbol, step 205.

[0026] Thus, the driver of the two-wheeler 103 seeing the display 109 light up can understand that the driver has looked at the rearview mirror 111 and can thus assume that he has been seen. A green symbol makes it possible to emphasize the information that everything is fine and that the driver of the vehicle is paying attention to his surroundings.

[0027] [Fig.l] illustrates a system according to certain embodiments. The breakdown presented has an educational purpose to highlight the different functions. However, it is understood that each block can be implemented using different means or their combinations, such as hardware components, software, one or more computers and / or electronic circuits. Each of the components can include at least one computer or a control-command unit. At least one memory can be included in each component. The memory can include computer program instructions or software code.

[0028] The computers can be implemented by any type of data processing device, such as a central computing unit, a signal processing processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a programmable gate array, etc. The computers can be implemented as a single controller, or a plurality of controllers or computers.

[0029] The different modules are connected to each other by data links adapted to the environment. These can be wired or wireless.

[0030] For software, the implementation may include modules or units distributed in the form of procedures, functions, etc. The memories may be any type of storage circuit. They may be part of the processor circuit, or separate from it and connected via electrical data links. These may be non-volatile type memories, hard disks, random access memories, flash memories, etc.

[0031] The program product may be downloadable from a communications network and / or recorded on a computer-readable medium. It may be directly executable by a processor or be in the form of a high-level language requiring one or more intermediate operations to be executable.

[0032] Thus the program instructions stored in the memory and processed by the computers can be any type of program code, for example, a compiled or interpreted program written in a suitable programming language.

[0033] The computer program instructions stored in the memory are such that, when executed by the computer, the latter carries out one or more of the steps of the methods described above.

[0034] The invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and the description previous. This should be considered as illustrative and given as an example and not as limiting the invention to this description alone. Many variant embodiments are possible.

[0035] In a first variant, the display 109 can display a second symbol alternating with the first symbol. This second symbol is for example a red light and it lights up when the driver of the vehicle 101 does not look, or has not looked for a predetermined time interval, at the rearview mirror 111. It thus informs the driver of the two-wheeler 103 that he has not been seen by the driver of the vehicle 101, which advantageously allows him to carry out a safety maneuver.

[0036] In a second variant, [Fig. 3], the rearview mirror 111 comprises a sensor 301 oriented such that it covers the viewing area 303 that the driver of the vehicle 101 has through the rearview mirror 111. This sensor is connected to the computer 107 and is adapted to detect the presence of a vehicle in the viewing area. The display 109 only starts operating when a vehicle is detected by this sensor. This second variant is particularly adapted to operate with the first variant, thus avoiding leaving the display 109 in permanent operation.

[0037] The operation of the system of the second variant is preferably as follows, [Fig.4]:

[0038] In a standby step 401, the sensor 301 monitors the arrival of a vehicle 103. The display 109 is then switched off. When the vehicle 103 is detected, step 403, the display 109 displays, step 405, the second symbol (red) and the sensor 105 monitors, step 201, the direction of the driver's gaze. When the sensor detects, step 203, that the driver's gaze is directed towards the rearview mirror 111, it sends an order to the display 109 so that it displays, step 205, the first symbol (green). This variant has the advantage of ensuring that the vehicle 103 is in the field of vision of the rearview mirror at the moment when the driver looks at it.

[0039] In a sub-variant, the computer 107 keeps track of the arrival times of the vehicles in the field of vision and the times during which the driver looks at the rear-view mirror so that, when there are several vehicles following one another, the display is correctly synchronized with the driver's vision.

[0040] In a third variant, the system is used for any vehicle arriving in the field of vision of the rearview mirror 111 and not just two-wheelers.

Claims

Claims

1. Method for displaying a warning signal of a motor vehicle comprising the steps of: • detecting (201) the orientation of the eyes of a driver of the motor vehicle; • displaying (205) a first warning symbol on an exterior rearview mirror of the motor vehicle if the driver's eyes are oriented towards the exterior rearview mirror (203).

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising a step of detecting a second vehicle approaching from behind the vehicle toward the rearview mirror.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first symbol is displayed when, in addition, the second vehicle is detected.

4. A method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein a second alert symbol is displayed when the second vehicle is detected and the driver's eyes are not directed towards the rearview mirror.

5. A method according to any one of claims 2, 3 or 4, wherein the second vehicle is a two-wheeler.

6. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the first symbol is displayed for a predetermined duration.

7. Computer program product characterized in that it comprises program code instructions for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6 when the program product is executed on a computer.

8. System for displaying a warning signal of a motor vehicle (101) comprising: • a sensor (105) configured to detect the orientation of the eyes of a driver of the motor vehicle; connected to • a display (109) configured to be placed on an exterior rearview mirror (111) of the motor vehicle and to display a first warning symbol when the sensor detects that the driver's eyes are oriented towards the exterior rearview mirror.

9. A motor vehicle comprising a system according to claim 8.

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