Generation of display instructions for controlling the broadcast of a video stream provided by a camera in a vehicle parking assistance system

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for generating display instructions to control the transmission of a video stream from a camera (3) of a parking assistance device in a motor vehicle (1) to a screen (4) of a human-machine interface in the vehicle, the vehicle including a head-up display (2). The invention also relates to a computer device (100) implementing such a method, as well as a motor vehicle (1) including such a device (100). Figure for the abstract: 1

Description

Title of the invention: Generation of display instructions for controlling the broadcast of a video stream provided by a camera in a parking assistance device for a motor vehicle. Technical field of the invention

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of parking assistance systems for motor vehicles. The invention relates in particular to a method for generating, by a computer device embedded in a motor vehicle, display instructions for controlling the transmission of a video stream from a camera of the vehicle's parking assistance system onto a screen of the vehicle's human-machine interface, the vehicle including a head-up display. The invention also relates to a device implementing such a method, as well as a motor vehicle including such a device. The invention is applicable to motor vehicles such as motor vehicles, particularly cars. Prior art

[0002] It is known that most motor vehicles allow information to be displayed on one or more screens arranged in the passenger compartment. Such screens are notably used to display a video feed from a camera in a parking assistance system installed in some vehicles. It is also known that some modern motor vehicles are equipped with a head-up display that projects visual content into the driver's field of vision when they are looking at the road. This projected content provides information that helps ensure safe driving. When the head-up display is inactive, this content is generally transferred to a screen located near the driver's seat so that the driver can always be fully informed.However, when the vehicle is reversing, the screen area available for displaying the video feed from the reversing camera of the parking assistance system is reduced because, when the head-up display is inactive, it must simultaneously display visual content that is not projected into the driver's field of vision. As a result, the reversing camera's video feed is at least partially cropped, which reduces ergonomics and increases the risk of accidents during the maneuver. Summary of the invention

[0003] The invention aims to address this problem. In particular, it aims to provide a solution to ensure that the display of visual content produced by a head-up display on a human-machine interface screen of a motor vehicle does not degrade the display quality of a video stream provided by a camera of a vehicle parking assistance system and displayed on the screen. In this way, the invention aims to enable the provision of more ergonomic and safer motor vehicles.

[0004] In order to achieve these goals, the invention relates, according to a first aspect, to a method of generating, by a computer device embedded in a motor vehicle, display instructions for controlling the broadcast of a video stream provided by a camera of a vehicle parking assistance system onto a screen of a human-machine interface of the vehicle, the vehicle including a head-up display system, the method comprising the steps of: i. determine a typical operating state of the head-up display equipment; and ii. generate a first display instruction if it is established that the head-up display equipment is inactive or a second display instruction if it is established that the head-up display equipment is active.

[0005] According to one variant, the first display instruction may include at least a first Cartesian coordinate and / or a first display size.

[0006] According to another variant, the second display instruction may include at least a second Cartesian coordinate and / or a second display size.

[0007] According to yet another variant, the first display instruction may include an identifier of a first video stream provided by the camera.

[0008] According to yet another variant, the second display instruction may include an identifier of a second video stream provided by the camera.

[0009] According to a second aspect, the invention relates to a display instruction generation device for controlling the broadcast of a video stream provided by a camera of a parking assistance device of a motor vehicle onto a screen of a human-machine interface of the vehicle, the vehicle comprising a head-up display device, the device comprising at least one information processing unit, including at least one processor, and a data storage medium configured to implement a method as described above.

[0010] According to a third aspect, the invention relates to a computer program comprising program code instructions for the execution of the steps of a process as described above when said program is executed by at least one processor.

[0011] According to a fourth aspect, the invention relates to a medium usable in a computer on which a program as described above is recorded.

[0012] According to a fifth aspect, the invention relates to a motor vehicle comprising a device as described above. Brief description of the figures

[0013] Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from an examination of the detailed description below, and the accompanying figures, in which:

[0014] [Fig-1] is a diagram of a motor vehicle according to the invention;

[0015] [Fig.2] is a functional diagram of a device according to the invention; and

[0016] [Fig.3] is a flowchart of the steps of a process according to the invention. Detailed description of the invention

[0017] Figure 1 schematically illustrates a motor vehicle 1 according to the invention. This vehicle is equipped with a head-up display 2, which conventionally displays visual content on the vehicle's windshield, positioned so as to be within the driver's field of vision when the driver is looking at the road ahead. It also includes a parking assistance system, which conventionally transmits a video feed from a camera 3 mounted on board the vehicle to a screen 4 located near the driver's seat. To achieve this, a control module 5 typically acts as a gateway between the camera 4 and the screen 3.Traditionally, the management module 5 is configured to adjust or select a video stream provided by the camera 3 according to display parameters it hosts or display instructions transmitted to it, so that such a stream is correctly displayed on the screen 4 which is installed in the vehicle 1.

[0018] Advantageously, the vehicle 1 according to the invention further incorporates a display instruction generation device 100 for controlling the transmission of a video stream from a camera of a parking assistance system of a motor vehicle to a screen of a human-machine interface of the vehicle as defined in the present invention, as described below. This device 100 according to the invention advantageously implements a method for generating display instructions for controlling the transmission of a video stream from a camera of a parking assistance system of a motor vehicle to a screen of a human-machine interface of the vehicle as defined in the present invention, as briefly summarized below and described in detail further below.

[0019] During the implementation of the method according to the invention, the device 100 according to the invention initially establishes a current operating mode of the head-up display equipment 2, in other words, if, at the current moment, it is active or inactive (i.e., off, faulty, being activated, being deactivated). Then, it generates a first display instruction if it determines that the head-up display unit 2 is inactive, or a second display instruction if it determines that the head-up display unit 2 is active. Thus, if it has determined that the head-up display unit 2 is inactive, meaning that the visual content usually projected in front of the driver is transferred to the screen 4, the first display instruction includes a first Cartesian coordinate and / or a first display size on which the management module 5 bases its adjustment of the video feed provided by the camera 4 when the parking assistance unit is active.On the contrary, if the device 100 according to the invention has established that the head-up display equipment 2 is active, which means that it projects its visual content in front of the driver, and therefore that no surface of the screen 4 is used to display it, the device 100 according to the invention then generates a second display instruction which includes a second Cartesian coordinate and / or a second display size which the management module 5 uses to adjust the feed provided by the camera when the parking assistance equipment is active.Alternatively, when the camera 4 is capable of providing two differently sized video streams, the first display instruction generated by the device 100 according to the invention includes an identifier for the first stream, while the second display instruction includes an identifier for the second stream, and the management module 5 selects one stream or the other based on a stream identifier it receives from the device 100 according to the invention. In this way, the device 100 according to the invention ensures that a video stream provided by the camera is not partially cropped by visual content produced by the head-up display 2 when the parking assistance system is active, and thus contributes to providing more ergonomic and safer motor vehicles.

[0020] Figure 2 schematically illustrates the display instruction generation device 100 for controlling the transmission of a video stream from a camera in a vehicle parking assistance system to a screen of a vehicle human-machine interface as defined in the present invention. It is essentially a computer device comprising at least one information processing unit 101, including one or more processors, a data storage medium 102, on which is stored a program including program code instructions for executing the steps of the method according to the invention described below, and an input / output interface 103 for receiving and transmitting data.

[0021] Preferably, the device 100 according to the invention is hosted on an independent computer and interacts via its input and output interface 103 and at by means of a wired communication network of the vehicle (e.g. CAN, Ethernet, MOST) - materialized on the [Fig. 1] by the arrows - with the head-up display unit 2 and with the management module 5. As a result, the device 100 according to the invention can, in particular, determine a current operating state of the head-up display unit 2, and it can consequently generate a display instruction for the management module 5.

[0022] According to the invention, all the elements described above contribute to enabling the implementation of a method for generating display instructions for controlling the broadcast of a video stream provided by a camera of a parking assistance device of a motor vehicle onto a screen of a human-machine interface of the vehicle within the meaning of the present invention, as described below in relation to [Fig.3],

[0023] Figure [Fig. 3] illustrates by means of a flowchart the steps of the process according to the invention.

[0024] According to a first step 301 of the method according to the invention, the device 100 according to the invention determines a current operating state of the head-up display unit 2. To this end, it interacts with the head-up display unit 2, which informs it, either upon simple request or automatically, of its current operating state when it is active. Conversely, the device 100 according to the invention determines that the head-up display unit is inactive (i.e., off, faulty, being activated, being deactivated) when it does not respond to a transmitted request or if it is simply unavailable.Thus, at the end of this first step of the process, the device 100 according to the invention has advantageously determined whether the head-up display unit 2 is currently inactive, meaning that the visual content it usually projects in front of the driver at the level of the windshield of the vehicle 1 is transferred to the screen 4, or whether it is active, meaning that no visual content produced by the head-up display unit occupies any part of the display area of ​​the screen 4.

[0025] Then, according to a second step 302 of the method according to the invention, the device 100 according to the invention generates a first display instruction if it has established that the head-up display equipment 2 is inactive or a second display instruction if it has established that the head-up display equipment 2 is active.

[0026] According to a first embodiment, which applies when the camera 3 of the parking assistance device generates a single video stream, the first display instruction thus generated and transmitted to the control module 5 includes at least one first Cartesian coordinate and / or a first display size, while the second display instruction includes at least one second Cartesian coordinate and / or a second display size. Thus, in the first In the first case, i.e., when the head-up display unit 2 is inactive, the first display instruction allows the control module 5 to position the video feed from the camera 3 on the screen 4 in a specific way when the vehicle's parking assistance system 1 is active, i.e., when the vehicle is reversing. In this case, visual content normally projected by the head-up display unit 2 is indeed transferred to the screen 4, and the first display instruction, in other words, the first Cartesian coordinate and / or the first display size, allows the control module 5 to position the video feed from the camera 3 on the screen 4 so that it is not partially cropped by the visual content produced by the head-up display unit 2, which is displayed on the screen 4 at that moment. Conversely, in the second case, i.e.When the head-up display 2 is active, the second display instruction allows the control module 5 to position the video feed from the camera 3 on the screen 4 in a second way when the parking assistance system is active, i.e., when the vehicle 1 is reversing. In this case, the head-up display 2 projects its visual content in the conventional way in front of the driver, and no portion of the display area of ​​screen 4 is currently dedicated to displaying this visual content. The second display instruction, in other words, the second Cartesian coordinate and / or the second display size, allows the control module 5 to position the video feed from the camera 3 on the screen 4 so that it occupies a larger portion of the screen 4's display area.

[0027] According to a second variant, which applies when the camera 3 of the parking assistance device is able to generate two differently sized video streams, the first display instruction that is thus generated and transmitted to the management module 5 includes an identifier of a first video stream provided by the camera 3, while the second display instruction includes an identifier of a second video stream provided by the camera 3. Thus, in the first case, i.e. when the head-up display device 2 is inactive, the first display instruction allows the management module 5 to select a first video stream provided by the camera 4 when the parking assistance device of the vehicle 1 is active, i.e. when the vehicle is performing a reversing maneuver.In this case, visual content normally projected by the head-up display 2 is indeed transferred to screen 4, and the first display instruction, in other words, the identifier of a first video stream provided by camera 3, allows the management module 5 to select a first video stream provided by camera 3 on screen 4 that is not partially cropped by the visual content produced by the head-up display 2 that is displayed on screen 4 at that moment. On the contrary, in the . In the second case, i.e., when the head-up display 2 is active, the second display instruction allows the control module 5 to select a second video stream from the camera 3 when the parking assistance system is active, i.e., when the vehicle 1 is reversing. In this case, the head-up display 2 projects its visual content in the conventional way in front of the driver, and no portion of the display area of ​​screen 4 is currently dedicated to displaying this visual content. The second display instruction, in other words, the identifier of a second stream from camera 3, allows the control module 5 to select the second video stream from camera 3, which occupies a larger portion of the display area of ​​screen 4.

[0028] Thus, thanks to the method and device according to the invention described above, a solution exists to ensure that the display of visual content produced by a head-up display on a screen of a motor vehicle's human-machine interface does not degrade the display quality of a video stream provided by a camera of the vehicle's parking assistance system. In this way, the method and device according to the invention contribute to the provision of more ergonomic and safer motor vehicles.

Claims

Demands

1. A method for generating, by a computer device (100) on board a motor vehicle (1), display instructions for controlling the broadcast of a video stream provided by a camera (3) of a vehicle parking assistance device on a screen (4) of a vehicle human-machine interface, the vehicle including a head-up display device (2), characterized in that the method comprises the steps of: i. determining a current operating state of the head-up display device (2); and ii. generating a first display instruction if it is established that the head-up display device (2) is inactive or a second display instruction if it is established that the head-up display device (2) is active.

2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the first display instruction includes at least a first Cartesian coordinate and / or a first display size.

3. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the second display instruction comprises at least a second Cartesian coordinate and / or a second display size.

4. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the first display instruction includes an identifier of a first video stream provided by the camera (3).

5. Method according to claim 4, characterized in that the second display instruction includes an identifier of a second video stream provided by the camera (3).

6. Display instruction generation device (100) for controlling the broadcast of a video stream provided by a camera (3) of a parking assistance device of a motor vehicle (1) onto a screen (4) of a human-machine interface of the vehicle (1), the vehicle including a head-up display device (2), characterized in that the device includes at least one information processing unit (101), comprising at least one processor, and a data storage medium (102) configured to implement a method according to any one of the preceding claims.

7.

8.

9. Computer program comprising program code instructions for executing the steps of a process according to any one of claims 1 to 5 when said program is executed by at least one processor. Support usable in a computer, characterized in that a program according to claim 7 is stored thereon. Motor vehicle (1), characterized in that it comprises a device (100) according to claim 6.

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