RU2369490C2 - Multifunctional system for protecting eyes from blindness - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: physics.

SUBSTANCE: multifunctional system comprises a protective glass-matrix, containing optical medium with a variable coefficient of attenuation, which is in form of a matrix with elements, transparency of which is controlled through a controller using an onboard computer, and optical sensors or video cameras for determining coordinates of light sources, directed forward the direction of movement of the vehicle, and an optical sensor or video camera, directed inside the saloon at the eyes of the driver. The system additionally has one or two video cameras, directed inside the saloon at the eyes of the driver, and one or more video cameras, connected through a device for interfacing with the onboard computer and directed at the rear-view mirror. The rear-view mirror additionally has optical medium with a varying coefficient of attenuation, which is in form of a matrix with elements, transparency of which is also controlled through a controller using the onboard computer.

EFFECT: increased safety of the vehicle user.

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Description

The invention relates to optoelectronic instrumentation and, in particular, to devices for protecting the eyes of a driver of a vehicle from blinding.

A device for protecting the eyes from glare, made in the form of glasses based on a liquid crystal matrix, which is controlled by signals from a position-sensitive photodetector. The position-sensitive photodetector determines the coordinates of the blinding radiation source. Depending on the position of the radiation source, the electronic unit, to which the position-sensitive photodetector is connected, generates control signals that are fed to the glasses glass, made on the basis of a liquid crystal matrix and divided by control electrodes into squares. Shading a square, block the glare of the light source [1].

The disadvantage of this device is the mismatch of the field of view of the photodetector and the field of view of the observer. As a result, the opaque region of the liquid crystal makes it difficult to view the space, which is especially dangerous when using such glasses with a driver of vehicles.

The closest in technical essence and the achieved result is a system for protecting the eyes from blinding, containing the following elements: a device for determining the coordinates of radiation sources, made in the form of two cameras (or similar optical sensors), allowing to determine the coordinates of radiation sources; a protective glass installed in front of the driver of the vehicle, containing an optical medium with a variable attenuation coefficient and a grid of controlled elements (cells) connected by electrodes to the control unit, as well as a device for determining the coordinates of the pupils of the driver’s eyes. Blocks for determining the coordinates of light sources and pupils of the driver’s eyes are connected to an on-board computer (PC), which controls the transparency of the protective glass elements, obscuring the driver’s eyes from glare sources [2].

The disadvantage of this device is the low accuracy of determining the coordinates of the pupils of the eyes, which makes it difficult to accurately determine the shading zone on the protective glass, which worsens the viewing conditions of the entire field of view of the driver, and also blinds the driver with headlights coming from behind cars through the rearview mirror.

The aim of the invention is to increase the accuracy of determining the coordinates of the pupils of the eyes (under conditions of dynamic changes in these coordinates), reducing the dead zone in the driver’s field of vision, increasing the efficiency of protecting the eyes from external light sources, improving the viewing conditions of the space both in front and behind the car, as well as additional functions: recognition of the driver’s identity in order to counter theft and determination of his wakefulness.

This goal is achieved by the fact that in a multifunctional system for protecting the eyes from glare, which contains a device for determining the coordinates of light sources, a protective glass containing an optical medium with a variable attenuation coefficient and a grid of coordinates in the form of electrodes with a control unit connected to an onboard computer, to which also a device is connected in the form of two cameras (located at the ends of the measuring basis) for determining the coordinates of light sources and other objects and a device for determining the coordinates of crustaceans with an additional video camera introduced, aimed at the driver’s eyes and mounted on the other end of the measuring basis, as well as two video cameras located at the ends of the basis in the rear of the car and aimed at the rearview mirror.

The invention is illustrated in the drawing, which shows a schematic diagram of a multifunctional system for protecting the eyes from blinding.

The system includes a device for determining the coordinates of light sources 1, consisting, for example, of two or more video cameras 2, 3, which are installed inside the car behind a protective glass and have a field of view in front of the car. (You can use another optical device - a sensor to determine the coordinates of the blinding light sources). To determine the coordinates of the pupils of the eyes of the driver’s eyes 4 and 5, two (or more) other video cameras 6, 7 are used, which are installed in the passenger compartment of the vehicle and are directed back to the face (eyes) of the driver. To determine the coordinates of the light sources 8 reflected in the rear-view mirror 9, two video cameras 10 and 11 are installed, installed in the rear of the passenger compartment and directed forward to the rear-view mirror 9. Video cameras 2 and 3 (two or more), directed forward vehicle, and video cameras 6 and 7 (two or more), directed backward along the vehicle, as well as video cameras 10 and 11, directed to the rearview mirror 9, are connected through an interfacing device 12 to the on-board computer 13 (computer). The protective (windshield) glass or hinged visor (shield) of the vehicle, as well as the rearview mirror 9, have an optical medium 14 and 15 with a variable attenuation coefficient. The optical medium is divided into individual elements (cells) forming a matrix and controlled by a controller 16 connected to an on-board computer (PC) 13.

As an optical medium 14 and 15 with a variable attenuation coefficient, a liquid crystal matrix or an optical matrix based on the so-called electric paper with electric ink can be used.

The lines connecting the light source 1 with the pupils of the eyes 4, 5, as well as the lines connecting the reflected light sources in the rearview mirror with the pupils of the eyes intersect the protective glasses 14 and 15, respectively, at points whose coordinates can be determined by the on-board computer based on the readings optical sensors (cameras) and the known geometric configuration of the entire system. The main part of the multifunctional system (MS), which performs the functions of protection against glare, consists of five basic subsystems:

1) a subsystem for determining the coordinates of light sources and the surrounding environment (consisting of two or more video cameras directed forward in the direction of the vehicle, and an on-board computer with appropriate algorithms),

2) a subsystem for determining the coordinates of the pupils of the driver’s eyes and the surroundings behind the vehicle (consisting of two or more cameras aimed at the driver’s face and an on-board computer with appropriate algorithms),

3) a subsystem for determining the coordinates of light sources reflected from a rear-view mirror, consisting of two or more video cameras directed forward in the direction of the vehicle toward the rear-view mirror, and an on-board computer with appropriate algorithms,

4) subsystems for determining the configuration of optically darkened areas on a protective glass (visor) and controlling their dimming, consisting of an optical medium with a variable attenuation coefficient, a control controller and an on-board computer with appropriate algorithms;

5) subsystems for determining the configuration of optically obscured areas on the rear-view mirror and controlling their dimming, consisting of an optical medium with a variable attenuation coefficient, a control controller, and an on-board computer with appropriate algorithms.

A multifunctional system (MS) operates as follows.

The image of the light source 1 (see the drawing) is fixed by two (or more) video cameras 2, 3, directed forward in the direction of the vehicle, and the on-board computer 13, based on the signals from the video cameras, determines the coordinates of the light sources and other objects. A preliminary selection of glare sources by signal amplitude can be carried out in the system: either using optical filters on video cameras 2, 3, or using on-board computer 13 so that sources whose light signal intensity does not exceed a predetermined threshold (causing glare) are not taken into account .

Along with the foregoing, the system determines the coordinates of the pupils 4, 5 of the driver’s eyes and other objects based on processing by the on-board computer of images from two (or more) video cameras 6, 7 aimed at the driver’s face. Further, on the basis of data on the geometric configuration of the entire system, as well as data on the coordinates of the pupils of the driver’s eyes and the coordinates of the blinding sources, the on-board computer 13, using a special algorithm, determines the configuration of the shading areas in medium 14 with a variable optical attenuation coefficient and controls the shading through the controller 16. As a result, precisely those areas that do not transmit rays from blinding sources into the eyes of the driver are selectively shaded on the protective glass (shield). At the same time, the visual perception of the rest of the road situation remains undistorted.

In the case when several radiation sources are in the field of view, a corresponding number of opaque zones are created on the protective glass matrix 14, which are projected onto the pupils of the eyes.

At the same time, the coordinates of the light sources 8 reflected from the rear-view mirror 9 are fixed by two (or more) video cameras 10 and 11, directed forward along the vehicle toward the rear-view mirror. In this case, the on-board computer 13 based on the signals from the cameras determines the coordinates of the light sources and other objects.

Further, on the basis of data on the geometric configuration of the entire system, as well as data on the coordinates of the pupils of the driver’s eyes and the coordinates of the blinding sources, the image of which is displayed in the rear-view mirror 9, the on-board computer 13 determines the configuration of the shading areas in medium 15 with a variable optical coefficient using a special algorithm attenuation and through the controller 16 controls the shading. As a result, precisely those areas that do not transmit rays from blinding sources into the eyes of the driver are selectively shaded on the rearview mirror 9. At the same time, the visual perception of the rest of the traffic situation behind the car remains undistorted.

In the case when several radiation sources are in the field of view, a corresponding number of opaque zones are created on the matrix 15 of the rear-view mirror, which are projected onto the pupils of the eyes.

Thanks to the foregoing, comfortable working conditions for the driver of the vehicle are created, since the blinding effect of the light sources is completely blocked, and the light sources themselves continue to work and illuminate the road situation without causing a glare to the driver’s eyes.

During the movement of the vehicle, the position of the light sources and the position of the eyes of the driver may change over time. Therefore, all processing of the measurement results and transparency control of the protective glass elements is carried out by the on-board computer in dynamics, in real time.

The linear size of the "dead zone" created by the opaque region of the matrix depends on the distance between the vehicle and the object that you want to see. In practice, for the shading of light sources, the linear size of the element of the matrix 11 can be of the order of 1 ... 2 mm. At the same time, for example, to shade a single light source, two opaque zones of about 2 × 2 mm in size are created on the protective glass matrix, which practically does not affect the quality of the driver’s field of view, since the angular dimensions of each shaded zone are of the order of 8 '.

The frequency of measurements using the device can be tens or hundreds of Hz and, therefore, the resolution of the measurements practically does not affect the accuracy of determining the location of the light source and its projections on the windshield matrix. The accuracy of determining the current coordinates of light sources and eye pupils using video cameras is a fraction of an angular minute, which obviously exceeds the resolution of the eye, equal to 1 '. The size of shading of objects in the driver’s field of vision mainly depends on the size of the controlled matrix cell and can be units of angular minutes, i.e. comparable with the resolution of the eye, and therefore, almost the entire field of view of the driver remains undistorted, but without blinding light sources.

Additional functions performed by the multifunctional anti-glare system

1. In addition to performing the main function - protection from blinding - MS. can monitor the degree of driver fatigue. When the driver is awake, his eyes are open and the video camera controls the position of the pupils of the eyes. When the driver is tired, the pupils of the eyes are covered, i.e. their coordinates cannot be determined. In this case, the on-board computer (COMPUTER) generates an alarm signal and turns on an audible signal that wakes the driver (and then, possibly, turns off the vehicle engine).

2. The forward-facing camcorders provide information on the position of the vehicle on the road, as well as on the position of other vehicles in the field of view of the cameras. Since video surveillance is performed with a high frequency, the direction of movement of all vehicles is monitored and, on the basis of this, the onboard computer in case of crisis situations (increasing the likelihood of a collision, exit from the roadway, etc.) generates commands for control mechanisms that allow applying braking and changing position of the vehicle in automatic mode in order to prevent an accident. In addition to these functions, forward-facing cameras allow you to determine the position of the vehicle relative to the road and thereby increase traffic safety.

3. The on-board computer (computer) 9 has the ability to download cartographic data from the cartographic information carriers and from the satellite receiver mounted on the vehicle, as well as from sensors that monitor the health of various vehicle components and the driver’s condition. At any time, the current position of the car and the necessary cartographic and other information are reproduced on the protective glass matrix (protective shield), which can be used both for vehicle navigation and for decision making.

4. Video cameras aimed at the driver and connected to the onboard computer carry out driver identification, which eliminates the possibility of car theft.

5. Video cameras aimed at the driver (back) and connected to the on-board computer monitor the situation behind the vehicle. The information received makes it possible to increase traffic safety.

Information sources

1. US patent No. 5015086, cl. G02C 7/10, 1991.

2. RF patent No. 2034324 dated March 10, 1992), (51) G01N 21/84, G02C 7/10 (prototype).

Claims (1)

A multifunctional system for protecting eyes from glare, including a protective glass matrix, containing an optical medium with a variable attenuation coefficient, formed in the form of a matrix with elements whose transparency is controlled through a controller using an on-board computer (computer), and optical sensors or video cameras to determine the coordinates of sources lights directed forward in the direction of the vehicle, and an optical sensor or video camera directed into the interior of the driver’s eyes, characterized in that in it is additionally introduced one or more cameras directed inside the cabin into the eyes of the driver, and one or more cameras connected via an interface to the on-board computer and aimed at the rearview mirror, while the rearview mirror, like the protective windshield, is additionally equipped with an optical medium with a variable attenuation coefficient, formed in the form of a matrix with elements, the transparency of which is also controlled through the controller using the on-board computer (computer).

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