The invention relates to a method for aligning at least one rear view mirror and/or another optical component of a motor vehicle.
At present, in most vehicles the rear view mirror or other optical devices have to be set manually by the driver. This requires a certain complexity of operator control until the mirror and/or also a so-called head-up display are set optimally for the driver. Furthermore, in most vehicles it is also possible to set the steering wheel by manual adjustment in accordance with the driver's wishes. Since these settings can at least partially also be undertaken while driving, there is a risk of distraction from events on the road owing to the complexity of the operator control.
Furthermore, there are already known at least in the patent literature mirror setting systems by which the mirrors or other optical components are set automatically in a continuous fashion or upon demand by the driver. Thus, DE 10 2005 019 154 A1 discloses a device for setting at least one vehicle component, such as a mirror, as a function of an imaging sensor system in a motor vehicle. The device begins, suppresses or stops the setting as a function of at least one gesture, detected by the imaging sensor system, of a vehicle occupant. Furthermore, the imaging sensor system is used, inter alia, to determine the head position, the eye position and the viewing direction of the occupant and, upon activation of the setting system, the relevant component(s) is/are automatically set as a function of the data, determined by means of the imaging sensor system, and the variables derived therefrom.
Furthermore, DE 10 2004 011 714 A1 discloses a method for aligning at least one rear view mirror on a motor vehicle, an interior sensor system being used to determine the head position and eye position of the driver and to set the rear view mirror as a function of the detected head position and eye position automatically. The automatic alignment can be performed, for example, after switching on an ignition and/or operating a switch in the motor vehicle.
A problem with such automatic or automated mirror setting systems which are based on the determined head position and/or eye position is that owing to a defective sensor system, or because the driver is moving or has assumed a poor position, the information relevant to the automatic alignment of the optical components cannot be determined. The system would then either not undertake an alignment, or undertake a defective alignment, of the optical components.
It is an object of the invention to provide a method for automatically aligning at least one rear view mirror and/or another optical component which is improved with regard to the above known problem.
This and other objects are achieved by a method for aligning at least one rear view mirror and/or another optical component of a motor vehicle, the current eye position of the driver being determined by an interior sensor system upon actuation of a control element, and the at least one rear view mirror being automatically aligned as a function of the determined current eye position of the driver, wherein an indication is output when the eye position of the driver cannot be determined.
In principle, the invention proceeds from a method for aligning at least one rear view mirror and/or another optical component of a motor vehicle. The current eye position of the driver is determined by an interior sensor system upon actuation of a control element provided therefor. The at least one rear view mirror and/or the other optical component is automatically aligned as a function of the determined eye position of the driver. In addition to the rear view mirrors installed in the vehicle, the optical device can also be a head-up display arranged in the region of the windshield. In addition, further adjustable components such as the steering wheel can also be appropriately set. The interior sensor system can, for example, be an imaging sensor system, in particular a view detection system, by which the eyes can be detected directly and the position of the eyes can be determined. However, it is also possible to provide any other sensor system by which the position of the eyes of the driver can be directly determined or can be indirectly determined by calculation from other available data.
It is provided according to the invention that the method is configured such that an indication is output when the eye position of the driver cannot be determined. This indication can, for example, be output in the form of an optical, acoustic and/or haptic signal.
Since it may be the case that the driver assumes a position to which he wishes to set the optical component just a short time after the activation of the function, when the eye position of the driver cannot be determined the indication is advantageously not output until after a prescribed time interval of, for example, 5 seconds.
In its simplest form, the indication can be configured in such a way that the driver is informed that the eye position cannot be determined. Since, as a rule, it is possible in principle to proceed from an interior sensor system that is functioning properly, or that it is even possible to detect proper functioning, in an advantageous refinement of the invention the indication can also be configured such that along with the indication the driver receives a request to position his eyes to the front. In order to be able to facilitate the positioning for the driver, and thus to facilitate the detection of the eye position for the interior sensor system, a positioning display for displaying the correct eye alignment in a head-up display or combination instrument can be activated by either actuating the control element or, at the latest with the output of the indication. This can be, for example, a cross-hair display which is displayed centrally in the head-up display. A particularly precise and quick setting can be facilitated thereby.
After output of the indication that it is impossible to determine eye position, a renewed determination is advantageously automatically undertaken of the current eye position and, subsequently, the at least one rear view mirror is aligned as a function of the current eye position then determined. Ideally, the eye position can be determined anew and the mirror can also be subsequently set only after a prescribed time interval after output of the indication, since the driver may need a certain amount of time until he has moved into the appropriate position.
As an alternative to automatically restarting the method, the method according to the invention can also be developed such that the alignment procedure is terminated, as it were, when the eye position of the driver cannot be determined and with the output of the indication. A further attempt to detect the eye position and the corresponding setting of the at least one rear view mirror would therefore not take place until the driver once again actuates the appropriate control element or a control element specifically provided for said case.
In principle, the method can also be configured in such a way that the entire method for aligning, which is started by actuating the appropriate control element, is active or is carried out for as long as the driver actuates the control element, since it is thereby possible to assume with a high probability that the driver is aware of the alignment procedure of the at least one mirror which has just become active, and adopts an appropriate seated position and/or eye position with which the at least one mirror is to be aligned.
Particularly with regard to the alignment of the (outer) mirrors, it can make sense to provide a plurality of mirror positions which can be set when activating the alignment. The various mirror positions are defined by virtue of the fact that, given appropriate alignment of the mirror, they enable the driver to view a specific area outside or also inside the vehicle.
The selection of the mirror position with which the goal is to align the corresponding mirrors can be performed in various ways. In the simplest configuration, the selection of the mirror position can be performed by a manual selection of the driver (for example, by vocalizing the selection or by appropriate setting in a menu). Alternatively, in an advantageous development of the invention, the mirror position to be aligned can also be brought about automatically as a function of prescribed current operating parameters and/or setting parameters of the vehicle. In particular, it is, for example, sensible to evaluate the currently selected transmission gear, that is to say to select the mirror position to be aligned as a function of the currently selected transmission gear. If, for example, the reverse gear is currently selected, and the speed is zero or very low, it can be assumed that the driver would like to park and, when looking into the rear view mirror, would like to have a view downward onto the street and/or onto a possible delimitation of a parking space or onto other obstacles, and thus to set a “parking” rear view mirror position. However, if a forward gear is selected (and the speed is also, if appropriate, greater than zero), it may be assumed that the driver would like to observe the traffic behind and to the side when looking into the rear view mirror, and therefore intends to undertake an appropriate “normal” rear view mirror setting.
It can advantageously further be provided that the driver is able, in advance, to undertake in an appropriate menu a selection of the optical components that are to be aligned appropriately such as the rear view mirror or the head-up display and other vehicle components to be set, such as the steering wheel. If the alignment is then started by actuating the control element, all the components that the driver has selected are set. This makes sense, above all, because, in particular, every driver feels a different steering wheel position to be convenient for him, and for this reason automatic positioning of the steering wheel is not necessarily sensible in every case.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.