Abstract:
A distance measuring and display system displays, on the rear windshield of a vehicle, a representation of the distance between the rear end of the vehicle and an obstacle behind the vehicle. Distance measuring equipment, including at least one sensor on the rear of the vehicle, measures the distance which is then displayed.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD  
         [0001]    The present invention generally relates to vehicular collision avoidance systems, and more particularly to an apparatus for determining the distance between a vehicle and an obstacle to the rear of the vehicle and for displaying that distance on the rear windshield of the vehicle.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    In most circumstances, the operator of a vehicle such as an automobile, truck, and the like has adequate visibility for the safe operation of the vehicle. Furthermore, the operator&#39;s visibility is enhanced through the well known use of rearview and sideview mirrors. Despite this, however, there are situations when a driver&#39;s visibility is limited or eliminated entirely. For example, when a driver is maneuvering a vehicle into a parking space on the side of the road between two other vehicles, the driver is often required to perform one or more iterations of backing up and pulling forward between the two vehicles without contacting either vehicle. The driver, however, generally cannot see the rear portion of the driver&#39;s vehicle that might make such contact. This is especially true when, for example, a vehicle is backing up to a loading dock for the purpose of loading and unloading.  
           [0003]    In an attempt to solve problems of this nature, vehicular collision avoidance systems have been developed and are now relatively common. Such systems may include an apparatus for determining the distance between a vehicle and an obstacle in the vehicle&#39;s path and apparatus for displaying that distance or at least alerting the operator of an impending collision. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,903,004 issued Feb. 20, 1990, and entitled “All-Weather Digital Distance Measuring and Signaling System” describes a distance measuring and signaling system for a vehicle specifically intended for accurately measuring distances from obstructions, such as those behind a truck as it is being backed up. An array of transducer devices having independent sending and receiving capabilities are mounted on a support frame, such as a rear bumper. A pulsed signal emanating from a transistor amplifier circuit is timed as it is converted to an ultrasonic wave signal by each transducer device, is simultaneously emitted and received by the transducer devices, and is returned as a pulsed signal. This signal is returned after bouncing back from an obstruction, and the time of the return is converted into a distance value by digital converter circuitry. The digital converter circuitry in turn sends the signal to a digital display device. U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,073 issued Jun. 16, 1987, and entitled “Reflective Object Detecting Apparatus” describes an apparatus wherein a plurality of ultrasonic transmitting elements and ultrasonic receiving elements are provided and are electrically switched in a sequential manner to allow the existence of an obstacle to be detected. The distance to the object and a particular region at which it is detected is displayed. The ultrasonic transmitting elements and the ultrasonic receiving elements are alternately disposed in a linear array.  
           [0004]    Unfortunately, known systems of the type described above generally require the operator to divert his attention from performing functions critical to the safe operation of the vehicle in order to look at the display.  
           [0005]    In view of the above, it would be desirable to provide a distance detection and display system which avoids the above described disadvantage by providing a distance display that is easily viewed by an operator of a vehicle as the vehicle is being maneuvered in a rearward direction.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    According to an aspect of the invention there is provided a distance measuring and display system for use on a vehicle having a rear windshield. The system comprises at least one distance measuring sensor for measuring the distance between the rear of the vehicle and an obstacle at the rear of the vehicle. A display system coupled to the sensor displays the distance on the rear windshield.  
           [0007]    According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided an apparatus for projecting an image on a rear windshield of a vehicle. The apparatus comprises a display for generating an image, and first means coupled to the display for projecting the image onto the rear windshield.  
           [0008]    According to a still further aspect of the invention there is provided a method for displaying on a vehicle&#39;s rear windshield a representation of a distance between the vehicle and an obstacle to the rear of the vehicle comprising measuring the distance, and displaying the representation on the rear windshield. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]    The following drawings are illustrative of particular embodiments of the invention and therefore do not limit the scope of the invention, but are presented to assist in providing a proper understanding of the invention. The drawings are not to scale (unless so stated) and are intended for use in conjunction with the explanations in the following detailed description. The present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawing figures, wherein like numerals and like elements, and:  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 1 illustrates a vehicle attempting to park between two other vehicles at the side of a roadway;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 2 illustrates a driver looking through the rear windshield of a vehicle as the vehicle is being driven backwards;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 3 illustrates the inventive rear windshield display apparatus; and  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the inventive distance detection and rear windshield display system. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0014]    The following description is exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following description provides a convenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described herein without departing from the scope of the invention.  
         [0015]    As stated previously, there are situations when a driver&#39;s visibility is limited or eliminated entirely, as for example when a driver is maneuvering a vehicle into a parking space on the side of a road between two other vehicles. This situation is illustrated in FIG. 1, which illustrates a vehicle  100  attempting to park in parking space  106  between two other vehicles  102  and  104  parked along the side of the roadway. As is well known, in such situations a driver is often required to perform one or more iterations of backing up and pulling forward, each time exercising extreme caution so as to not hit the vehicle behind when backing up or the vehicle in front when pulling forward. When backing up, a driver commonly looks out rear windshield  108  in order to estimate the distance to the vehicle parked to the rear. Notwithstanding, very often a driver will, in fact, make contact with vehicle  104  possibly creating the need for expensive repairs.  
         [0016]    In accordance with the present invention, at least one distance measuring device  110  is provided at the rear portion of vehicle  100 . This sensor may be ultrasonic, radar, or an infrared emitter and receiver which transmits energy that bounces off an obstacle; e.g., the rear vehicle  104 . That energy that is bounced or reflected is received back, and the distance is determined by measuring the time required for the energy to travel to and from the obstacle. That measurement is then processed and converted into a distance measurement in the well known manner. Such systems are well known, and the interested reader is referred to the above cited patents, the teachings of which are hereby incorporated by reference.  
         [0017]    The present invention comprises as distance measuring system wherein the distance between a vehicle and an obstacle to the rear of the vehicle is displayed in the vehicle&#39;s rear windshield. In this manner, a driver may easily determine the remaining distance to an obstacle to the rear of the operator&#39;s vehicle.  
         [0018]    Referring to FIG. 2, vehicle  100  is equipped with a rear windshield  108 . As can be seen, operator  111  of vehicle  100  is turned so as to look out rear windshield  108 . This would be the typical scenario if operator  111  were driving vehicle  100  in a reverse direction. However, according to the teachings of the present invention, driver  111  is assisted by a display  112  which is projected onto the rear windshield. This display contains distance information (e.g., numerical) indicating to the driver how far the rear of the vehicle is from an obstacle. In this manner, low speed collisions such as the type which normally occur in such situations (i.e., backing into a parking space) are substantially avoided which, in turn, represents a significant safety improvement and results in reduced repair costs.  
         [0019]    Referring to FIG. 3, driver  111  is again illustrated looking through rear windshield  108  as he is guiding vehicle  100  in a rearward direction. Distance measuring processor  114  of the type described above retrieves and processes reflected signals, and determines the distance between the vehicle mounted sensor and an obstacle to the rear of the vehicle. This distance data is then presented to a projection display at unit  116 . Projection unit  116  may comprise a housing, an optical system disposed in a portion of the housing, and a display device disposed in another portion of the housing. Display device  116  may comprise, for example, a light transmissive type liquid crystal display device including a liquid crystal display cell. The liquid crystal display cell driven by a display driver (not shown) forms a display image which represents data related to the distance between the vehicle and an obstacle at the rear of the vehicle. The light which passes through the LCD cell in the form of displayed data is projected onto windshield  108  by means of a reflecting mirror  118 . As can be seen, reflecting mirror  118  may be pivoted about point  120  to enable the proper positioning of the virtual image  112  (FIG. 2) to render it easily viewable by operator  111  as is indicated by arrows  122 .  
         [0020]    Projective display systems are well known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,711,544 issued Dec. 8, 1987 entitled “Display System For A Vehicle”, describes a display system having a display unit for projecting a display image of a display device onto a front glass of a vehicle. This patent, the teachings of which are hereby incorporated by reference, describe a system wherein the entire surface of the front windshield can be utilized as a display image projection surface and thus the virtual image of the display can be formed at a desired position suitable for viewing by the driver. For additional information, the interested reader is directed to U.S. Pat. No. 5,519,536 issued May 21, 1996, entitled “Warning Device For Displaying Information In A Vehicle” and U.S. Pat. No. 5,805,119 issued Sep. 8, 1998 entitled, “Vehicle Projected Display Using Deformable Mirror Device”.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 4 is a block diagram representative of the inventive rear windshield display system. The reference numerals have been chosen to correspond to like elements in FIGS. 1, 2, and  3 . As can be seen, sensor  110  is coupled to distance measuring processor  114 . Sensor  110  transmits signals which are reflected back from an obstacle. Thus, sensor  110  may be of any suitable variety including ultrasonic, radar, or infrared. The reflected data is then processed in distance measuring processor  114  to generate signals corresponding to the distance between the rear of vehicle  100  and an obstacle to the rear thereof. This information is displayed in display unit  116  which is optically coupled to a projector  118 . Projector  118  then projects the distance indicia onto rear windshield  108  for viewing by a driver.  
         [0022]    Thus, there has been provided, in accordance with the invention, an improved vehicular distance measuring and display system. Although the invention has been described with reference to an illustrative embodiment, it is not intended that the invention be limited to this illustrative embodiment. Those with skill in the art will recognize that many variation and modifications exist that do not depart from the true spirit of the invention. For example, while the invention has been described with reference to a single rear sensor, multiple sensors may be employed. Accordingly, it is intended that all such variations and modifications be included as fall within the scope of the appended claims.