U.S. patent application number 15/882164 was filed with the patent office on 2019-08-01 for autonomous vehicle passenger identification and guidance system.
This patent application is currently assigned to GM Global Technology Operations LLC. The applicant listed for this patent is GM Global Technology Operations LLC. Invention is credited to Michael A. GUTIERREZ, Jeffrey L. KONCHAN, Joseph V. LENNEMAN, Yael SHMUELI FRIEDLAND.
Application Number | 20190232868 15/882164 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 67224455 |
Filed Date | 2019-08-01 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20190232868 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
LENNEMAN; Joseph V. ; et
al. |
August 1, 2019 |
AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE PASSENGER IDENTIFICATION AND GUIDANCE SYSTEM
Abstract
A system to provide alerts to guide visually-impaired passengers
to a vehicle is disclosed. The system includes a passenger
identification module that is configured to identify a passenger
based upon sensor data received at an autonomous vehicle and a
passenger proximity module that is configured to determine a
distance between the passenger and the autonomous vehicle. The
system also includes an alert module that is configured to generate
an alert having an alert characteristic corresponding to the
distance.
Inventors: |
LENNEMAN; Joseph V.; (Royal
Oak, MI) ; SHMUELI FRIEDLAND; Yael; (Tel Aviv,
IL) ; GUTIERREZ; Michael A.; (Dearborn Heights,
MI) ; KONCHAN; Jeffrey L.; (Romeo, MI) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
GM Global Technology Operations LLC |
Detroit |
MI |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
GM Global Technology Operations
LLC
Detroit
MI
|
Family ID: |
67224455 |
Appl. No.: |
15/882164 |
Filed: |
January 29, 2018 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60Q 1/50 20130101; B60Q
9/00 20130101; G05D 1/0088 20130101; E05B 39/007 20130101; B60W
2050/143 20130101; B60W 50/0098 20130101; B60W 50/16 20130101; E05Y
2400/86 20130101; B60Q 5/005 20130101; E05Y 2900/531 20130101 |
International
Class: |
B60Q 9/00 20060101
B60Q009/00; G05D 1/00 20060101 G05D001/00; E05B 39/00 20060101
E05B039/00; B60W 50/16 20120101 B60W050/16; B60W 50/00 20060101
B60W050/00 |
Claims
1. A system comprising: a passenger identification module that is
configured to identify a passenger based upon sensor data received
at an autonomous vehicle; a passenger proximity module that is
configured to determine a distance between the passenger and the
autonomous vehicle; and an alert module that is configured to
generate an alert having an alert characteristic indicative of the
distance and a vehicle door to enter based on an occupancy of the
autonomous vehicle.
2. The system as recited in claim 1, further comprising a passenger
guidance module that is configured to determine whether the
distance is greater than a predetermined distance threshold and
selects the alert characteristic when the distance is greater than
the predetermined distance threshold and selects another alert
characteristic when the distance is less than the predetermined
distance threshold.
3. The system as recited in claim 1, further comprising a plurality
of sensors configured to generate sensor data indicative of an
environment surrounding the autonomous vehicle.
4. The system as recited in claim 3, wherein the plurality of
sensors comprise at least one of a radar device, a light detection
and ranging (LIDAR) device, an optical camera, a thermal camera, an
ultrasonic sensor, a pressure sensor, an ultra-wide band (UWB)
sensor, and a global positioning system (GPS) receiver.
5. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the alert module is
configured to transmit the alert to a mobile electronic device
associated with the passenger.
6. The system as recited in claim 5, wherein the mobile electronic
device generates at least one of a haptic feedback and an audible
alert based upon the alert.
7. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the alert module is
configured to generate the alert at at least one of a haptic device
and an audio device disposed proximate to a vehicle handle of the
autonomous vehicle.
8. The system as recited in claim 7, wherein the haptic device
generates haptic feedback based upon the alert and the audio device
generates an audible alert based upon the alert.
9. The system as recited in claim 7, wherein the alert module is
configured to generate the alert at the at least one of the haptic
device and the audio device based upon an occupancy of the
autonomous vehicle.
10. The system as recited in claim 1, further comprising a door
management module that is configured to unlock a door handle when
the distance is less than a predetermined distance threshold.
11. A method, comprising: identifying a passenger based upon sensor
data received at an autonomous vehicle; determining a distance
between the passenger and the autonomous vehicle; and generating an
alert having an alert characteristic indicative of the distance and
a vehicle door to enter based on an occupancy of the autonomous
vehicle.
12. The method as recited in claim 11, further comprising
determining whether the distance is greater than a predetermined
distance threshold and selecting the alert characteristic when the
distance is greater than the predetermined distance threshold and
selecting another alert characteristic when the distance is less
than the predetermined distance threshold.
13. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein receiving the sensor
data further comprises receiving the sensor data from a plurality
of sensors configured to generate sensor data indicative of an
environment surrounding the autonomous vehicle.
14. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein the plurality of
sensors comprise at least one of a radar device, a light detection
and ranging (LIDAR) device, an optical camera, a thermal camera, an
ultrasonic sensor, a pressure sensor, an ultra-wide band (UWB)
sensor, and a global positioning system (GPS) receiver.
15. The method as recited in claim 11, further comprising
transmitting the alert to a mobile electronic device associated
with the passenger.
16. The method as recited in claim 15, wherein the mobile
electronic device generates at least one of a haptic feedback and
an audible alert based upon the alert.
17. The method as recited in claim 11, further comprising
generating the alert at at least one of a haptic device and an
audio device disposed proximate to a vehicle handle of the
autonomous vehicle based upon an occupancy of the autonomous
vehicle.
18. The method as recited in claim 17, wherein the haptic device
generates haptic feedback based upon the alert and the audio device
generates an audible alert based upon the alert.
19. (canceled)
20. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein the alert
characteristic comprises at least one of a frequency
characteristic, a pulse duration characteristic, a pulse separation
characteristic, and an audible command.
21. A system comprising: a passenger identification module that is
configured to identify a passenger based upon sensor data received
at an autonomous vehicle; a passenger proximity module that is
configured to determine a distance between the passenger and the
autonomous vehicle; and an alert module that is configured to
generate an alert having an alert characteristic corresponding to
the distance, wherein the alert module is configured to generate
the alert at at least one of a haptic device and an audio device
disposed proximate to a vehicle handle of the autonomous vehicle
based upon an occupancy of the autonomous vehicle.
Description
INTRODUCTION
[0001] The information provided in this section is for the purpose
of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the
presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this
section, as well as aspects of the description that may not
otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither
expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present
disclosure.
[0002] The present disclosure relates to autonomous driving
vehicles, and more particularly to autonomous driving vehicles
including a passenger management system that provides alerts to
guide visually-impaired passengers to the vehicle and/or vehicle
doors.
[0003] An autonomous vehicle is a vehicle that is capable of
sensing a surrounding environment and navigating with little or no
user input. An autonomous vehicle senses the surrounding
environment using sensors such a radar, LIDAR, image sensors, and
the like. The autonomous vehicle system further uses information
from global positioning systems (GPS) technology, navigation
systems, vehicle-to-vehicle communication,
vehicle-to-infrastructure technology, and/or drive-by-wire systems
to navigate the vehicle.
SUMMARY
[0004] In an example, a system to provide alerts to guide
visually-impaired passengers to a vehicle is disclosed. The system
includes a passenger identification module that is configured to
identify a passenger based upon sensor data received at an
autonomous vehicle and a passenger proximity module that is
configured to determine a distance between the passenger and the
autonomous vehicle. The system also includes an alert module that
is configured to generate an alert having an alert characteristic
corresponding to the distance.
[0005] In other features, the system includes a passenger guidance
module that is configured to determine whether the distance is
greater than a predetermined distance threshold and selects the
alert characteristic when the distance is greater than the
predetermined distance threshold and selects another alert
characteristic when the distance is less than the predetermined
distance threshold.
[0006] In other features, the system also includes a plurality of
sensors configured to generate sensor data indicative of an
environment surrounding the autonomous vehicle.
[0007] In other features, the plurality of sensors include at least
one of a radar device, a light detection and ranging (LIDAR)
device, an optical camera, a thermal camera, an ultrasonic sensor,
a pressure sensor, an ultra-wide band (UWB) sensor, or a global
positioning system (GPS) receiver.
[0008] In other features, the alert module is configured to
transmit the alert to a mobile electronic device associated with
the passenger.
[0009] In other features, the mobile electronic device generates at
least one of a haptic feedback or an audible alert based upon the
alert.
[0010] In other features, the alert module is configured to
generate the alert at a vehicle handle device of the autonomous
vehicle.
[0011] In other features, the vehicle handle device generates at
least one of a haptic feedback or an audible alert based upon the
alert.
[0012] In other features, the alert module is configured to
generate the alert at the vehicle handle device based upon an
occupancy of the autonomous vehicle.
[0013] In other features, the system includes a door management
module that is configured to unlock a door handle when the distance
is less than a predetermined distance threshold.
[0014] In an example, a method to provide alerts to guide
visually-impaired passengers to a vehicle is disclosed. The method
includes identifying a passenger based upon sensor data received at
an autonomous vehicle and determining a distance between the
passenger and the autonomous vehicle. The method also includes
generating an alert having an alert characteristic corresponding to
the distance.
[0015] In other features, the method includes determining whether
the distance is greater than a predetermined distance threshold and
selecting the alert characteristic when the distance is greater
than the predetermined distance threshold and selecting another
alert characteristic when the distance is less than the
predetermined distance threshold.
[0016] In other features, the method includes receiving the sensor
data from a plurality of sensors configured to generate sensor data
indicative of an environment surrounding the autonomous
vehicle.
[0017] In other features, the plurality of sensors comprise at
least one of a radar device, a light detection and ranging (LIDAR)
device, an optical camera, a thermal camera, an ultrasonic sensor,
a pressure sensor, an ultra-wide band (UWB) sensor, or a global
positioning system (GPS) receiver.
[0018] In other features, the method includes transmitting the
alert to a mobile electronic device associated with the
passenger.
[0019] In other features, the mobile electronic device generates at
least one of a haptic feedback or an audible alert based upon the
alert.
[0020] In other features, the method includes generating the alert
at a vehicle handle device of the autonomous vehicle.
[0021] In other features, the vehicle handle device generates at
least one of a haptic feedback or an audible alert based upon the
alert.
[0022] In other features, the method includes generating the alert
at the vehicle handle device based upon an occupancy of the
autonomous vehicle.
[0023] In other features, the alert characteristic comprises at
least one of a frequency characteristic, a pulse duration
characteristic, a pulse separation characteristic, or an audible
command.
[0024] Further areas of applicability of the present disclosure
will become apparent from the detailed description, the claims and
the drawings. The detailed description and specific examples are
intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to
limit the scope of the disclosure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0025] The present disclosure will become more fully understood
from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings,
wherein:
[0026] FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of a vehicle in
accordance with an example implementation of the present
disclosure;
[0027] FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic illustration of a passenger
management module in accordance with an example implementation of
the present disclosure;
[0028] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for guiding a
passenger to the vehicle in accordance with an example
implementation of the present disclosure; and
[0029] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for
generating an alert at a vehicle door according to proximity of the
passenger and/or occupancy of the vehicle in accordance with an
example implementation of the present disclosure.
[0030] In the drawings, reference numbers may be reused to identify
similar and/or identical elements.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0031] Autonomous driving vehicles can be used to transport
passengers, such as in ridesharing environments, to desired
locations. However, passengers that have disabilities, such as
visually-impaired passengers, may experience difficultly in
identifying and locating autonomous driving vehicles without
additional assistance.
[0032] The present disclosure is directed to a vehicle, such as an
autonomous driving vehicle, that includes a passenger management
system. The passenger management system identifies passengers to be
picked up and that provides alerts to guide the passenger to the
vehicle. The alerts can be transmitted to a mobile electronic
device of the passenger and/or vehicle door handle devices. The
mobile electronic device and/or vehicle door handle device(s)
provides haptic feedback and/or audible alerts at varying
frequencies, pulse durations, pulse separations based upon the
distance between the passenger and the vehicle. Additionally, the
passenger management system can generate an alert at one or more
door handles to indicate which door to enter based upon occupancy
of the vehicle or proximity of the passenger with respect to the
vehicle door.
[0033] FIG. 1 illustrates an example passenger management system
100 implemented within a vehicle 102. The passenger management
system 100 determines that a passenger is approaching the vehicle
102 and alerts the approaching passenger to the vicinity of the
vehicle 102 to provide additional assistance for locating the
vehicle 102 relative to the passenger.
[0034] The vehicle 102 includes a chassis 104, a body 106, and
vehicle wheels 108. The body 106 is arranged on the chassis 104 and
encloses components of the vehicle 102. The vehicle wheels 108 are
each connected to the chassis 104. In various embodiments, the
vehicle 102 is an autonomous vehicle. The vehicle 102 is, for
example, a vehicle that is automatically controlled to carry
passengers from one location to another. The vehicle 102 is
depicted as a passenger car, but it should be appreciated that any
other vehicle including trucks, sport utility vehicles (SUVs), and
recreational vehicles (RVs) can also be used.
[0035] As shown, the vehicle 102 includes a propulsion system 110,
a transmission system 112, a steering system 114, a brake system
116, a sensor system 118, and an actuator system 120. In
implementations, the propulsion system 110 may include an internal
combustion engine, an electric machine such as a traction motor,
and/or a fuel cell propulsion system. The transmission system 112
is configured to transmit power from the propulsion system 110 to
the vehicle wheels 108. According to various embodiments, the
transmission system 112 may include a step-ratio automatic
transmission, a continuously-variable transmission, or another type
of transmission. The brake system 116 is configured to provide
braking torque to the vehicle wheels 108. The brake system 116 may,
in various embodiments, include friction brakes, brake by wire, a
regenerative braking system such as an electric machine, and/or
other appropriate braking systems. The steering system 114
positions the vehicle wheels 108. While depicted as including a
steering wheel for illustrative purposes, the steering system 114
may not include a steering wheel.
[0036] The sensor system 118 includes one or more sensors 122 that
sense the external environment and/or the internal environment of
the vehicle 100. The sensors 122 can include, but are not limited
to, radars, LIDARs, optical cameras, thermal cameras, ultrasonic
sensors, pressure sensors, ultra-wide band (UWB) sensors a global
positioning system (GPS) receiver, or other suitable wireless-based
unique identifiers. The actuator system 120 includes one or more
actuator devices that control one or more vehicle features such as,
but not limited to, the propulsion system 110, the transmission
system 112, the steering system 114, and the brake system 116.
[0037] The vehicle 102 also includes a door handle device 124
located proximate to each door handle 126 of the vehicle 102. The
door handle device 124 can include, but is not limited to, a device
that provides a proximity alert to a passenger indicating a
location of the door handle 126. For example, the door handle
device 124 can include a vibration device, an audible device, or
the like that alerts a visually impaired passenger to the position
of the door handle 126.
[0038] As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 102 includes a passenger
management module 128. The passenger management module 128
communicates with an engine control module 133, the sensor system
118, and/or mobile electronic device 130 via a communication
network 132. The passenger management module 128 can use the input
to determine a relative position of the passenger with respect to
the vehicle 102 and generates an alert having an alert
characteristic that corresponds to the distance between the
passenger and the vehicle 102. The passenger may use the alert to
determine a relative vicinity of the vehicle 102.
[0039] The passenger management module 128 transmits the alert to
the mobile electronic device 130 and/or to the door handle device
124. The mobile electronic device 130 and/or the door handle device
124 generates feedback based upon the alert. For example, the
mobile electronic device 130 can generate haptic feedback and/or
audio feedback according to the alert characteristic that is
indicative of the distance between the passenger and the vehicle
102. The alert characteristic can include, but is not limited to, a
frequency, a pulse duration, a pulse separation, or the like. The
engine control module 133 communicates with the various components
of the vehicle 102, such as, but not limited to, the propulsion
system 110, the transmission system 112, the steering system 114,
and the brake system 116.
[0040] FIG. 2 illustrates an example passenger management module
128 in accordance with an example implementation of the present
disclosure. As shown, the passenger management module 128 includes
a passenger identification module 202, a passenger proximity module
204, a passenger guidance module 206, an alert module 208, a
vehicle unlock detection module 210, and a door management module
212.
[0041] The passenger identification module 202 receives sensor data
from the sensors 122 indicative of the environment proximate to the
vehicle 102 and/or data from the mobile electronic device 130. With
respect to the mobile electronic device 130, the passenger
identification module 202 receives positional data and/or sensor
data. The sensor data may represent a gait of the passenger or the
like.
[0042] The passenger identification module 202 identifies the
passenger based upon the received sensor data. In an
implementation, the passenger identification module 202 can apply
sensor fusion techniques to the sensor data and/or the positional
data to identify the passenger external to the vehicle 102. The
passenger identification module 202 identifies the passenger with
respect to the vehicle 102 based upon sensor data indicative of the
passenger and/or the positional data corresponding to the mobile
electronic device 130. For example, the passenger identification
module 202 identifies the passenger by comparing the positional
data of the mobile electronic device with sensor data that
corresponds to the positional data. The passenger identification
module 202 outputs data indicative of the identified passenger
external to the vehicle 102.
[0043] The passenger proximity module 204 receives the identified
passenger data from the passenger identification module 202. The
passenger proximity module 204 determines the position of the
passenger with respect to the vehicle 102. For example, the
passenger proximity module 204 receives positional data indicative
of the vehicle 102 position and compares the vehicle positional
data to the passenger positional data. Over multiple time
intervals, the passenger proximity module 204 can determine a
direction of travel of the passenger with respect to the vehicle
102. For example, the passenger proximity module 204 compares
positional data from a prior time interval to positional data for a
current time interval to determine the direction of travel with
respect to the vehicle 102. The passenger proximity module 204
outputs data indicative of the distance between the vehicle 102 and
the passenger and a direction of travel.
[0044] The passenger guidance module 206 receives data output from
the passenger proximity module 204 to determine an alert
characteristic to output based upon the received data. In an
implementation, the passenger guidance module 206 compares the data
representing the distance with a predetermined distance threshold
over multiple time periods to determine the alert characteristic.
The alert characteristic indicates an approximate distance between
the passenger and the vehicle 102. For example, the passenger
guidance module 206 determines that an alert having a first alert
characteristic is to be output when the distance is greater than
the predetermined distance threshold and that an alert having a
second alert characteristic is to be output when the distance is
less than the predetermined distance. It is understood that the
alerts may include audible alerts, haptic alerts, or the like.
[0045] In some implementations, if the passenger is determined to
be traveling away from the vehicle 102, the alert may comprise an
audible directional command. The audible directional command can
indicate that the passenger is traveling in the wrong direction
and/or which direction the passenger should be traveling to reach
the vehicle 102. For example, if the passenger exceeds a
predetermined distance threshold, the passenger guidance module 206
determines that an audible command is to be generated indicating
the passenger is traveling in the wrong direction.
[0046] The alert module 208 receives data from the passenger
guidance module 206. The alert module 208 generates the alert based
upon the data provided by the passenger guidance module 206. For
example, the alert module 208 can generate an alert having the
alert characteristic based upon the data from the passenger
guidance module 206. In an implementation, the alert module 208
transmits alerts that have an increasing alert frequency as the
distance between the passenger and the vehicle 102 decreases and a
decreasing alert frequency as the distance between the passenger
and the vehicle 102 increases. The alert characteristic may
comprise a frequency characteristic, a pulse duration
characteristic, a pulse separation characteristic, or the like.
[0047] In another implementation, the alert module 208 transmits
alerts that have an increasing pulse duration as the distance
between the passenger and the vehicle 102 decreases and a
decreasing pulse frequency as the distance between the passenger
and the vehicle 102 increases. In yet another implementation, the
alert module 208 transmits alerts that have a decreasing pulse
separation as the distance between the passenger and the vehicle
102 decreases and an increasing pulse separation as the distance
between the passenger and the vehicle 102 increases.
[0048] The alert is transmitted to the mobile electronic device 130
via the communication network 132. The mobile electronic device 130
generates an alert according to the alert characteristic. The alert
module 208 can modify the alert characteristic as the passenger
moves closer to or further away from the vehicle 102.
[0049] The passenger management module 128 also generates alerts to
allow passengers to locate door handles 126 of the vehicle. As
shown in FIG. 2, the passenger management module 128 includes an
unlock detection module 210. The unlock detection module 210
receives unlock signals from a vehicle unlock device 136, such as a
key fob or the like. The unlock detection module 210 provides an
unlock detection signal to the passenger proximity module 204. The
passenger proximity module 204 then monitors for a signal from the
mobile electronic device 130 indicating the mobile electronic
device 130 is within a predetermined distance of the vehicle
102.
[0050] In some implementations, the passenger proximity module 204
receives a signal from the mobile electronic device 130 when the
mobile electronic device 130 is within the predetermined distance
of the vehicle 102. The passenger proximity module 204 generates
data indicating the passenger is proximate to the vehicle 102 and
provides the data to the passenger guidance module 206.
[0051] The passenger guidance module 206 receives the data from the
passenger proximity module 204 and sensor data from the sensors
122. For example, the passenger guidance module 206 receives sensor
data from the sensors 122 associated with the vehicle seats 134.
The sensor data may be pressure data indicative of whether the
corresponding vehicle seat 134 is occupied. The passenger guidance
module 206 determines whether one of the vehicle seats 134 is not
occupied based upon the sensor data and provides an alert
indicating which seats are not occupied.
[0052] The alert module 208 receives the data indicating which
seats are not occupied. The alert module also receives data from
the passenger proximity module 204 indicating which door handle 126
the passenger is closest in distance. The alert module 208
generates an alert and transmits the alert to the door handle
device 124 corresponding to the vehicle seat 134 that is not
occupied. When there are multiple occupancies within the vehicle
102, the alert module 208 transmits the alert to the door handle
device 124 determined to be closet in distance to the
passenger.
[0053] The door management module 212 provides unlock and/or lock
signals to cause the door handles 126 to lock and/or unlock when
the passenger proximity module 204 provides data indicating the
passenger is within a predetermined distance to the door handle
126. Once the passenger has entered the vehicle 102, the door
management module 212 provides data to the alert module 208 to
cause the alert module 208 to terminate the alerts.
[0054] FIG. 3 illustrates an example method 300 for guiding a
passenger to the vehicle 102. The method 300 is described in the
context of the modules included in the example implementation of
the passenger management module 128 shown in FIG. 2. However, the
particular modules that perform the steps of the method may be
different than those mentioned below and/or the method may be
implemented apart from the modules of FIG. 2.
[0055] The method begins at 302. At 304, the passenger
identification module 202 determines whether the vehicle 102 is in
park. For example, the passenger identification module 202 receives
a park signal from the engine control module 133. If the vehicle
102 is not in park, the method 300 returns to 304. If the vehicle
102 is in park, the passenger identification module 202 identifies
the passenger based upon sensor data received from the sensor
system 118 at 306.
[0056] At 308, the passenger proximity module 204 determines
whether a distance between the passenger and the vehicle 102
exceeds a predetermined distance threshold. If the distance exceeds
the predetermined distance, the passenger guidance module 206
indicates to the alert module 208 to generate an alert having an
alert characteristic at 310. At 312, the alert is generated, and
the method 300 returns to 308.
[0057] If the distance does not exceed the predetermined distance,
the passenger guidance module 206 determines which door handle 126
the passenger is to enter at 314. Based upon the determination, the
passenger guidance module 206 causes the alert module 208 to
generate an alert indicative of which door handle 126 the passenger
is to enter at 316. For example, the alert module 208 generates the
alert having the alert characteristic at the door handle device
124. At 318, the door management module 212 unlocks the door handle
126 when the passenger is within a predetermined door distance
threshold. At 320, the door management module 212 locks the door
handle 126 once the door handle 126 has been closed. The method 300
ends at 322.
[0058] FIG. 4 illustrates an example method 400 for providing
alerts to one or more door handles 126. The method 400 is described
in the context of the modules included in the example
implementation of the passenger management module 128 shown in FIG.
2. However, the particular modules that perform the steps of the
method may be different than those mentioned below and/or the
method may be implemented apart from the modules of FIG. 2.
[0059] The method begins at 402. At 404, the passenger
identification module 202 determines whether the vehicle 102 is in
park. If the vehicle 102 is in park, the unlock detection module
210 determines whether an unlock signal has been received or
whether the passenger is within a predetermined distance of the
vehicle 102 at 406. If the unlock signal has not been received or
the passenger is not within the predetermined distance, the method
400 returns to 406.
[0060] If the unlock signal has been received and/or the passenger
is within the predetermined distance, the passenger proximity
module 204 determines which vehicle door to enter based upon
occupancy or proximity of the passenger to a vehicle door at 408.
At 410, the alert module 208 causes the door handle device 124 to
generate an alert indicating the vehicle door to enter based upon
the determination. The method ends at 412.
[0061] The foregoing description is merely illustrative in nature
and is in no way intended to limit the disclosure, its application,
or uses. The broad teachings of the disclosure can be implemented
in a variety of forms. Therefore, while this disclosure includes
particular examples, the true scope of the disclosure should not be
so limited since other modifications will become apparent upon a
study of the drawings, the specification, and the following claims.
It should be understood that one or more steps within a method may
be executed in different order (or concurrently) without altering
the principles of the present disclosure. Further, although each of
the embodiments is described above as having certain features, any
one or more of those features described with respect to any
embodiment of the disclosure can be implemented in and/or combined
with features of any of the other embodiments, even if that
combination is not explicitly described. In other words, the
described embodiments are not mutually exclusive, and permutations
of one or more embodiments with one another remain within the scope
of this disclosure.
[0062] Spatial and functional relationships between elements (for
example, between modules, circuit elements, semiconductor layers,
etc.) are described using various terms, including "connected,"
"engaged," "coupled," "adjacent," "next to," "on top of," "above,"
"below," and "disposed." Unless explicitly described as being
"direct," when a relationship between first and second elements is
described in the above disclosure, that relationship can be a
direct relationship where no other intervening elements are present
between the first and second elements, but can also be an indirect
relationship where one or more intervening elements are present
(either spatially or functionally) between the first and second
elements. As used herein, the phrase at least one of A, B, and C
should be construed to mean a logical (A OR B OR C), using a
non-exclusive logical OR, and should not be construed to mean "at
least one of A, at least one of B, and at least one of C."
[0063] In the figures, the direction of an arrow, as indicated by
the arrowhead, generally demonstrates the flow of information (such
as data or instructions) that is of interest to the illustration.
For example, when element A and element B exchange a variety of
information but information transmitted from element A to element B
is relevant to the illustration, the arrow may point from element A
to element B. This unidirectional arrow does not imply that no
other information is transmitted from element B to element A.
Further, for information sent from element A to element B, element
B may send requests for, or receipt acknowledgements of, the
information to element A.
[0064] In this application, including the definitions below, the
term "module" or the term "controller" may be replaced with the
term "circuit." The term "module" may refer to, be part of, or
include: an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC); a
digital, analog, or mixed analog/digital discrete circuit; a
digital, analog, or mixed analog/digital integrated circuit; a
combinational logic circuit; a field programmable gate array
(FPGA); a processor circuit (shared, dedicated, or group) that
executes code; a memory circuit (shared, dedicated, or group) that
stores code executed by the processor circuit; other suitable
hardware components that provide the described functionality; or a
combination of some or all of the above, such as in a
system-on-chip.
[0065] The module may include one or more interface circuits. In
some examples, the interface circuits may include wired or wireless
interfaces that are connected to a local area network (LAN), the
Internet, a wide area network (WAN), or combinations thereof. The
functionality of any given module of the present disclosure may be
distributed among multiple modules that are connected via interface
circuits. For example, multiple modules may allow load balancing.
In a further example, a server (also known as remote, or cloud)
module may accomplish some functionality on behalf of a client
module.
[0066] The term code, as used above, may include software,
firmware, and/or microcode, and may refer to programs, routines,
functions, classes, data structures, and/or objects. The term
shared processor circuit encompasses a single processor circuit
that executes some or all code from multiple modules. The term
group processor circuit encompasses a processor circuit that, in
combination with additional processor circuits, executes some or
all code from one or more modules. References to multiple processor
circuits encompass multiple processor circuits on discrete dies,
multiple processor circuits on a single die, multiple cores of a
single processor circuit, multiple threads of a single processor
circuit, or a combination of the above. The term shared memory
circuit encompasses a single memory circuit that stores some or all
code from multiple modules. The term group memory circuit
encompasses a memory circuit that, in combination with additional
memories, stores some or all code from one or more modules.
[0067] The term memory circuit is a subset of the term
computer-readable medium. The term computer-readable medium, as
used herein, does not encompass transitory electrical or
electromagnetic signals propagating through a medium (such as on a
carrier wave); the term computer-readable medium may therefore be
considered tangible and non-transitory. Non-limiting examples of a
non-transitory, tangible computer-readable medium are nonvolatile
memory circuits (such as a flash memory circuit, an erasable
programmable read-only memory circuit, or a mask read-only memory
circuit), volatile memory circuits (such as a static random access
memory circuit or a dynamic random access memory circuit), magnetic
storage media (such as an analog or digital magnetic tape or a hard
disk drive), and optical storage media (such as a CD, a DVD, or a
Blu-ray Disc).
[0068] The apparatuses and methods described in this application
may be partially or fully implemented by a special purpose computer
created by configuring a general purpose computer to execute one or
more particular functions embodied in computer programs. The
functional blocks, flowchart components, and other elements
described above serve as software specifications, which can be
translated into the computer programs by the routine work of a
skilled technician or programmer.
[0069] The computer programs include processor-executable
instructions that are stored on at least one non-transitory,
tangible computer-readable medium. The computer programs may also
include or rely on stored data. The computer programs may encompass
a basic input/output system (BIOS) that interacts with hardware of
the special purpose computer, device drivers that interact with
particular devices of the special purpose computer, one or more
operating systems, user applications, background services,
background applications, etc.
[0070] The computer programs may include: (i) descriptive text to
be parsed, such as HTML (hypertext markup language), XML
(extensible markup language), or JSON (JavaScript Object Notation)
(ii) assembly code, (iii) object code generated from source code by
a compiler, (iv) source code for execution by an interpreter, (v)
source code for compilation and execution by a just-in-time
compiler, etc. As examples only, source code may be written using
syntax from languages including C, C++, C#, Objective-C, Swift,
Haskell, Go, SQL, R, Lisp, Java.RTM., Fortran, Perl, Pascal, Curl,
OCaml, Javascript.RTM., HTML5 (Hypertext Markup Language 5th
revision), Ada, ASP (Active Server Pages), PHP (PHP: Hypertext
Preprocessor), Scala, Eiffel, Smalltalk, Erlang, Ruby, Flash.RTM.,
Visual Basic.RTM., Lua, MATLAB, SIMULINK, and Python.RTM..
[0071] None of the elements recited in the claims are intended to
be a means-plus-function element within the meaning of 35 U.S.C.
.sctn. 112(f) unless an element is expressly recited using the
phrase "means for," or in the case of a method claim using the
phrases "operation for" or "step for."
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