阅读说明：本技术 用于车辆的盲点检测装置、其方法及方向盘装置 (Blind spot detection device for vehicle, method thereof and steering wheel device ) 是由 邱榆皓 于 2020-07-01 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种用于车辆的盲点检测装置、其方法及方向盘装置。盲点检测装置包括方向盘、发光设备、盲点检测器以及控制器。方向盘具备配置区域,配置区域包括一定点,定点表示为车辆的虚拟位置。发光设备包括发光灯条以及调光驱动器,发光灯条装设在方向盘且环绕定点。调光驱动器控制发光灯条的灯号,控制器获得对于是否有对象接近的检测结果,并通过调光驱动器控制发光灯条的灯号,从而通过发光灯条的灯号来呈现车辆与对象之间的相对位置以及车辆与对象之间的远近程度。(A blind spot detection apparatus for a vehicle, a method thereof, and a steering wheel apparatus. The blind spot detection apparatus includes a steering wheel, a light emitting device, a blind spot detector, and a controller. The steering wheel has a configuration area including a fixed point expressed as a virtual position of the vehicle. The lighting device comprises a light-emitting lamp strip and a dimming driver, wherein the light-emitting lamp strip is arranged on the steering wheel and surrounds a fixed point. The dimming driver controls the lamp number of the light bar, the controller obtains a detection result of whether an object approaches, and the dimming driver controls the lamp number of the light bar, so that the relative position between the vehicle and the object and the distance between the vehicle and the object are presented through the lamp number of the light bar.)

1. A blind spot detection apparatus for a vehicle, comprising:

a steering wheel having a configuration area including a fixed point represented as a virtual position of the vehicle;

the light-emitting device comprises a light-emitting lamp bar and a dimming driver, wherein the light-emitting lamp bar is arranged on the steering wheel and surrounds the fixed point, and the dimming driver is coupled with the light-emitting lamp bar to control the lamp number of the light-emitting lamp bar;

a blind spot detector disposed on the vehicle, the blind spot detector detecting whether at least one object is approaching around the vehicle; and

a controller coupled to the dimming driver and the blind spot detector,

the controller obtains a detection result of whether the at least one object is close to the blind spot detector, and controls the lamp number of the light-emitting lamp bar through the dimming driver, so that the relative position between the vehicle and the at least one object and the distance between the vehicle and the at least one object are presented through the lamp number of the light-emitting lamp bar.

2. The blind spot detection apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising:

a rotation sensor disposed on the steering wheel and electrically coupled to the controller;

wherein the rotation sensor senses rotation of the steering wheel and generates a rotation detection result, and provides the rotation detection result to the controller;

the controller obtains the rotation detection result from the rotation sensor, and adjusts the presenting position of the lamp number of the light-emitting lamp bar according to the rotation detection result, so that the configuration direction of the at least one object relative to the vehicle corresponds to the presenting position of the lamp number of the light-emitting lamp bar.

3. The blind spot detection apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the rotation sensor is one or a combination of a three-axis gyroscope, a level, a gravity sensor, and a steering wheel gear rotation sensor.

4. The blind spot detection device for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein the controller presents the relative position between the vehicle and the at least one object by illuminating at least one presented position of a light signal of the light bar, the at least one presented position of the light signal of the light bar being respectively indicative of the position of the at least one object relative to the vehicle.

5. The blind spot detection apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the deployment region is located on a cover of an airbag provided on the steering wheel, and the fixed point of the deployment region is a center point of the deployment region.

6. The blind spot detection apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising:

an acceleration sensor disposed on the vehicle and electrically coupled to the controller,

the acceleration sensor senses an acceleration magnitude and an acceleration direction of the at least one object,

the controller obtains the acceleration measurement value and the acceleration direction of the acceleration sensor to judge the distance between the at least one object and the vehicle, analyzes the critical degree of the at least one object relative to the vehicle according to the distance, and provides warning information or performs control operation according to the critical degree.

7. The blind spot detection device for a vehicle according to claim 6, wherein the controller presents the degree of distance between the vehicle and the at least one object, the acceleration value of the at least one object relative to the vehicle, and the degree of danger by adjusting one or a combination of a color, a blinking frequency, and a luminance intensity of a light signal of the light bar as the warning information.

8. The blind spot detection apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the blind spot detector comprises one or a combination of a radar range finder, an image extractor, an ultrasonic sensor and an electromagnetic wave sensor,

the controller judges whether the at least one object approaches around the vehicle according to the detection result provided by the blind spot detector.

9. The blind spot detection device according to claim 1, wherein when the blind spot detector is an image extractor, the controller determines whether the at least one object is one of a plurality of specific vehicle types through the image extracted by the image extractor, and provides a warning message according to the one of the specific vehicle types.

10. A steering wheel apparatus comprising:

a steering wheel having a configuration area including a fixed point represented as a virtual position of a vehicle in which the steering wheel apparatus is configured;

the light-emitting device comprises a light-emitting lamp bar and a dimming driver, wherein the light-emitting lamp bar is arranged in the configuration area and surrounds the fixed point, and the dimming driver is coupled with the light-emitting lamp bar to control the lamp number of the light-emitting lamp bar; and

a controller coupled to the dimming driver,

the controller controls the light signal of the light-emitting light bar through the dimming driver, so that the relative position between the vehicle and at least one object and the distance between the vehicle and the at least one object are presented through the light signal of the light-emitting light bar.

11. The steering wheel apparatus of claim 10, wherein the vehicle comprises:

a blind spot detector disposed on the vehicle, the blind spot detector detecting whether the at least one object is approaching around the vehicle and providing a detection result,

wherein the controller determines whether the at least one object is approaching around the vehicle according to the detection result provided by the blind spot detector.

12. The steering wheel apparatus of claim 11, wherein the blind spot detector comprises one or a combination of a radar range finder, an image extractor, an ultrasonic sensor, and an electromagnetic wave sensor,

the controller judges whether the at least one object approaches around the vehicle according to the detection result provided by the blind spot detector.

13. The steering wheel apparatus of claim 12, wherein when the blind spot detector is an image extractor, the controller determines whether the at least one object is one of a plurality of specific vehicle types through the image extracted by the image extractor, and provides a warning message according to the one of the specific vehicle types.

14. The steering wheel apparatus of claim 10, further comprising:

a rotation sensor disposed on the steering wheel and electrically coupled to the controller,

wherein the rotation sensor senses rotation of the steering wheel and generates a rotation detection result, which is provided to the controller,

the controller obtains the rotation detection result from the rotation sensor, and adjusts the presenting position of the lamp number of the light-emitting lamp bar according to the rotation detection result, so that the configuration direction of the at least one object relative to the vehicle corresponds to the presenting position of the lamp number of the light-emitting lamp bar.

15. The steering wheel apparatus of claim 14, wherein the rotation sensor is one or a combination of a three-axis gyroscope, a level, a gravity sensor, and a steering wheel gear rotation sensor.

16. The steering wheel device of claim 10, wherein the controller presents the relative position between the at least one object and the vehicle by illuminating at least one presented position of a light of the light bar, the at least one presented position of the light bar being respectively indicative of the position of the at least one object relative to the vehicle.

17. The steering wheel apparatus of claim 10, wherein the deployment region is located on a covering of an airbag disposed on the steering wheel, the fixed point of the deployment region being a center point of the deployment region.

18. The steering wheel apparatus of claim 10, wherein the vehicle further comprises:

an acceleration sensor electrically coupled to the controller, the acceleration sensor sensing an acceleration magnitude and an acceleration direction of the at least one object,

the controller obtains the acceleration measurement value and the acceleration direction of the acceleration sensor to judge the distance between the at least one object and the vehicle, analyzes a critical degree of the at least one object relative to the vehicle according to the distance, and provides warning information or performs a control operation according to the critical degree.

19. The steering wheel device of claim 18, wherein the controller presents the degree of proximity between the vehicle and the at least one object, the amount of acceleration of the at least one object relative to the vehicle, or the degree of criticality by adjusting one or a combination of a color, a blinking frequency, and a light intensity of a light signal of the light bar as the warning information.

20. The steering wheel device of claim 16, wherein the controller presents a degree of proximity between the vehicle and the at least one object or a degree of criticality of the at least one object relative to the vehicle by adjusting one or a combination of a color, a blinking frequency, and a light intensity of a light signal of the light bar as a warning message.

21. A blind spot detection method for a vehicle, comprising:

detecting whether at least one object approaches around the vehicle, wherein a lighting device is arranged on a steering wheel of the vehicle, a lighting strip of the lighting device is arranged in a configuration area on the steering wheel and surrounds a fixed point of the configuration area, and the fixed point of the configuration area is represented as a virtual position of the vehicle; and

obtaining a detection result of whether the at least one object is close to the vehicle, and controlling the signal of the light bar through a dimming driver of the light-emitting device, so that the relative position between the vehicle and the at least one object and the distance between the vehicle and the at least one object are presented through the signal of the light bar.

22. The blind spot detection method for a vehicle according to claim 21, further comprising:

sensing the rotation of the steering wheel and generating a rotation detection result; and

and adjusting the presenting position of the lamp number of the light-emitting lamp bar according to the rotation detection result, so that the configuration direction of the vehicle relative to the at least one object corresponds to the presenting position of the lamp number of the light-emitting lamp bar.

23. The blind spot detection method for a vehicle of claim 21, wherein presenting the relative position of the at least one object and the vehicle and the degree of proximity between the vehicle and the at least one object by a light signal of the light bar comprises:

and presenting the relative position of the at least one object and the vehicle by lighting at least one presentation position of the lamp number of the light-emitting lamp bar, wherein the at least one presentation position of the lamp number of the light-emitting lamp bar corresponds to the configuration direction of the at least one object relative to the vehicle.

24. The blind spot detection method for a vehicle of claim 21, wherein presenting the relative position of the at least one object and the vehicle and the degree of proximity between the vehicle and the at least one object by a light signal of the light bar comprises:

the distance between the vehicle and the at least one object is represented by adjusting one or a combination of a color, a flashing frequency and a luminance of a light signal of the light bar.

25. The blind spot detection method for a vehicle according to claim 21, further comprising:

sensing an acceleration magnitude and an acceleration direction of the at least one object; and

and judging the distance between the at least one object and the vehicle according to the acceleration measurement value and the acceleration direction of the acceleration sensor, analyzing the critical degree of the at least one object relative to the vehicle according to the distance, and providing warning information or performing control operation according to the critical degree.

26. The blind spot detection method for a vehicle of claim 25, wherein the degree of distance between the vehicle and the at least one object, the amount of acceleration of the at least one object relative to the vehicle, or the degree of criticality is presented by adjusting one or a combination of a color, a blinking frequency, and a luminance intensity of a light signal of the light bar as the warning information.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a blind spot detection technology for a vehicle, and more particularly, to a blind spot detection device for a vehicle, a method thereof, and a steering wheel device.

Background

When a vehicle (such as a vehicle) is operated, a blind area on a driver sight line is formed due to the blocking of a vehicle body, the sight angle of the driver and the like, so that the driver cannot really notice people, things and objects around the vehicle, and collision or traffic accidents are easy to happen. Blind Spot Detection (BSD) techniques were developed to avoid the above situation.

Differentiated by detection, blind spot detection techniques can be divided into passive detection (e.g., adding a small convex mirror to the rear view mirror) and active detection (e.g., installing image recognition devices, ultrasonic/electromagnetic wave sensing devices, and/or infrared detection devices around the vehicle or at specific locations). In the related art of reminding a driver, driving is often warned in the form of "displaying an electronic light signal at an instrument panel/a rear view mirror or the like/sounding a warning sound" or the like. However, in any warning method, the above-described warning may be ignored in driving due to a situation such as a noise in the vehicle, a noisy environment, or a line of sight of driving. Therefore, designers of blind spot detection technology desire to effectively remind drivers with diversified warning methods, thereby reducing or even avoiding the occurrence of car accidents.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a blind spot detection device for a vehicle, a method thereof and a steering wheel device, which utilize a light-emitting lamp bar arranged on the steering wheel to present the relative position relation and the distance degree between the vehicle and objects around the vehicle so as to effectively remind a driver of the detailed configuration direction of the objects around the vehicle and assist the driver in reducing traffic accidents.

The blind spot detection device for the vehicle comprises a steering wheel, a light-emitting device, a blind spot detector and a controller. The steering wheel is provided with an arrangement area, and the arrangement area comprises a fixed point which is represented as a virtual position of the vehicle. The lighting device includes a light bar and a dimming driver. The light-emitting lamp strip is arranged on the steering wheel and surrounds the fixed point. The dimming driver is coupled to the light bar to control the light signal of the light bar. The blind spot detector is disposed on the vehicle. The blind spot detector detects whether at least one object approaches around the vehicle. The controller is coupled to the dimming driver and the blind spot detector. The controller obtains a detection result of whether the at least one object is close from the blind spot detector, and controls the lamp number of the light-emitting lamp bar through the dimming driver, so that the relative position of the vehicle and the at least one object and the distance between the vehicle and the at least one object are presented through the lamp number of the light-emitting lamp bar.

The steering wheel device comprises a steering wheel, a light-emitting device and a controller. The steering wheel is provided with an arrangement area, and the arrangement area comprises a fixed point which is represented as a virtual position of the vehicle. The lighting device includes a light bar and a dimming driver. The light-emitting lamp strip is arranged on the steering wheel and surrounds the fixed point. The dimming driver is coupled to the light bar to control the light signal of the light bar. The controller is coupled to the dimming driver. The controller controls the signal of the light-emitting light bar through the dimming driver, so that the relative position between the vehicle and the at least one object and the distance between the vehicle and the at least one object are presented through the signal of the light-emitting light bar.

The blind spot detection method for the vehicle according to the embodiment of the invention comprises the following steps. Detecting whether at least one object approaches around the vehicle, wherein the steering wheel of the vehicle is provided with a light-emitting device, a light-emitting lamp bar of the light-emitting device is arranged in a configuration area on the steering wheel and surrounds a fixed point of the configuration area, and the fixed point of the configuration area is represented as a virtual position of the vehicle. And obtaining a detection result of whether the at least one object is close to the vehicle, and controlling the lamp number of the light-emitting lamp bar through the dimming driver of the light-emitting device, so that the relative position between the vehicle and the at least one object and the distance between the vehicle and the at least one object are presented through the lamp number of the light-emitting lamp bar.

Based on the above, in the embodiment of the invention, the light bars (e.g., light emitting diode light bars) are arranged around the specific area on the steering wheel of the vehicle, and the detection result of whether at least one object is close to the periphery of the vehicle is matched, so that the relative position relationship of the object close to the periphery of the vehicle corresponding to the vehicle and the distance between the object and the vehicle are presented in real time by using the light bars. Therefore, the driver can know whether the object is close to the periphery of the vehicle or not by utilizing the lamp signal position of the light-emitting lamp bar.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a blind spot detection apparatus for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic view of a steering wheel, a configuration area, an airbag cover and a light bar in the steering wheel device according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 3 and 4 are schematic diagrams illustrating a steering wheel device, a vehicle and a relatively close object under different conditions, respectively, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a steering wheel device and two objects approaching a vehicle in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a blind spot detection apparatus for a vehicle according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a schematic view of a light bar when the steering wheel device is rotated according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is another schematic view of a steering wheel and a light bar of a steering wheel device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart of a blind spot detection method for a vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

The reference numbers are as follows:

100: blind spot detection device

110: steering wheel device

111: air bag cover

113: configuration area

115. 155-1 to 155-3, 815: steering wheel

120: light emitting device

122. 822: luminous lamp strip

122-1 to 122-5: region in a light bar

125: dimming driver

130: blind spot detector

140: controller

300: vehicle with a steering wheel

400. 402, a step of: object

631: radar range finder

632: image extractor

633: ultrasonic sensor

634: electromagnetic wave sensor

650: rotation sensor

660: acceleration sensor

670: sound generator

680: electronic system for vehicle

690: vehicle sound equipment

S910 to S920: step (ii) of

D1, D2: distance between vehicle and object

N1: fixed point

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a Blind Spot Detection (BSD) apparatus 100 for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. For convenience of explanation, the present embodiment divides the vehicle into two parts, namely, a steering wheel device 110 and a vehicle body 120. The blind spot detection apparatus 100 includes a steering wheel 115, a light emitting device 120, a blind spot detector 130, and a controller 140. The lighting device 120 includes a light bar 122 and a dimming driver 125. In another perspective, the steering wheel device 110 of the present embodiment includes a steering wheel 115, a light emitting apparatus 120, and a controller 140, and the vehicle body 120 includes a blind spot detector 130.

The elements of the various elements in the steering wheel device 110 are shown in fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a steering wheel 115, an arrangement area 113, an airbag cover 111, and a light bar 122 in the steering wheel device 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The steering wheel 115 includes an arrangement region 113, and the arrangement region 113 includes a fixed point N1, and the fixed point N1 indicates a virtual position of the vehicle. The deployment area 113 of the present embodiment is located on a cover of an airbag provided on the steering wheel unit 110, that is, the cover is an airbag cover 111. The light bar 122 is disposed in the disposition area 113 on the steering wheel 115, and the light bar 122 surrounds a fixed point N1 of the disposition area 113, where the fixed point N1 may be a center point of the disposition area 113. The light bar 122 of the present embodiment is in a ring shape and surrounds the center point N1 of the configuration area 113. Other closed shapes (e.g., circular, elliptical, quadrilateral, polygonal, etc.) may surround the fixed point N1 of the disposition area 113, and the embodiment is not limited to the shape of the light bar 122 and the position of the fixed point N1 on the steering wheel 115. The fixed point N1 of the placement area is represented as a virtual position of the vehicle. It should be noted that the dimming driver 125 and the controller 140 shown in fig. 1 are disposed inside the steering wheel 115, and the position of the dimming driver 125 and the controller 140 in the steering wheel 115 can be arbitrarily adjusted by applying the present embodiment. These two elements are not shown in fig. 2.

Returning to fig. 1, the dimming driver 125 is coupled to the light bar 122 to control the light signal of the light bar 122. In detail, the light bar 122 is a light bar formed by serially connecting a plurality of Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), and the dimming driver 125 can adjust the light color, the light flicker frequency, and/or the light brightness of each LED on the light bar 122. In the present embodiment, the dimming driver 125 is controlled by the controller 140, and controls the light signal of the light bar 122 according to the adjustment of the controller 140. The light signal referred to herein may be one of a color, a flicker frequency, and a brightness of light, or a combination thereof.

The blind spot detector 130 is disposed on the vehicle body 120, and the blind spot detector 130 is used for detecting whether one or more objects approach the periphery of the vehicle. The blind spot detector 130 of the present embodiment may adopt a single type of blind spot detection technology, or may integrate multiple types of blind spot detection technologies to determine whether there are objects around the vehicle. For example, the blind spot detector 130 may be one or a combination of a radar range finder, an image extractor, an ultrasonic sensor, and an electromagnetic wave sensor. The different types of blind spot detectors 130 are mounted on the vehicle body 120 at different positions, and the present embodiment is configured to use the corresponding types of blind spot detectors 130 according to the requirements.

The controller 140 obtains a detection result of whether at least one object is approaching from the blind spot detector 130, and controls the signal of the light bar 122 through the dimming driver 125, so that the relative position between the at least one object and the vehicle and the degree of distance between the vehicle and the at least one object are presented through the signal of the light bar 122. The controller 140 can simultaneously present the relative position and proximity between the vehicle and at least one object by controlling the light signals of the light bar 122. In detail, the controller 140 presents the relative position between the at least one object and the vehicle by illuminating at least one presentation position of the light signal of the light bar 122. The fixed point N1 of the configuration area 113 is used to represent a virtual position of the vehicle, and the position of the light signal of the light bar 122 corresponds to the configuration direction of at least one object relative to the vehicle. And, the controller 140 presents the distance between the vehicle and the at least one object by adjusting one or a combination of the light color, the flashing frequency and the light emitting brightness of the light signal of the light bar 122. In other words, the so-called "degree of closeness" may also be referred to as the degree of urgency as to whether or not an object is about to collide with the vehicle or whether or not the vehicle is about to collide with the object. The present embodiment can divide the "degree of distance" (or "degree of emergency treatment" or "degree of criticality") into three levels, and the distinguishing method or threshold data between each level can be set according to the needs of the designer or the data obtained through experiments. For example, the first level (the object is just within the sensing range of the blind spot detection sensor and far away from the vehicle) alerts the driver with a yellow light, a smaller light emitting brightness, or an audible sound effect with a smaller volume; the second level (the object is closer to the vehicle but has a certain distance) warns the driver with orange light, moderate luminous brightness or sound effect of intermediate sound volume; the third level (the object is very close to the vehicle) warns the driver with red light, maximum brightness or maximum volume of sound.

Fig. 3 and 4 are illustrated below. Fig. 3 and 4 are schematic diagrams illustrating the steering wheel device 110, the vehicle and the approaching object under different conditions according to an embodiment of the present invention. In fig. 3 and 4, the driver is on the vehicle 300 and holds the steering wheel 115, and the object 400 is exemplified by an approaching vehicle.

Referring to fig. 1 and 3 together, when the vehicle 300 and the object 400 are shown at the right of fig. 3, the blind spot detector 130 on the vehicle 300 detects the object 400 and the distance D1 between the vehicle and the object 400, and provides information of the relative position of the object 400 and the distance D1 to the controller 140. When the controller 140 determines that the distance D1 between the vehicle and the object 400 is very close (e.g., at the third level of "emergency level" above), the controller 140 of fig. 1 immediately controls the dimming driver 125 to set the light number of the area 122-1 in the light bar 122 to red light and control the light emitting brightness of the leds in the area 122-1 to be the maximum (or control the light emitting frequency of the leds in the area 122-2 to be the maximum frequency). Since the fixed point N1 of the layout area 113 is represented as a virtual position of the vehicle 300 and the position where the light signal of the light bar 122 is presented (that is, the area 122-1) is represented as a position of the object 400 relative to the vehicle 300, it is possible to inform the driver that the object 400 is about to collide with the vehicle 300 at the rear and to allow the driver to perform a corresponding avoidance operation.

Referring to fig. 1 and 4 together, when the vehicle 300 and the object 400 are shown at the right of fig. 4, the blind spot detector 130 on the vehicle 300 detects the object 400 and the distance D2 between the vehicle and the object 400, and provides information of the relative position of the object 400 and the distance D2 to the controller 140. When the controller 140 determines that the distance D2 between the vehicle and the object 400 is at the second level of the "emergency level", the controller 140 of fig. 1 immediately controls the dimming driver 125 to set the light number of the area 122-2 in the light bar 122 to be the orange light, and control the light emitting brightness of the leds in the area 122-2 to be the intermediate level (or control the light emitting frequency of the leds in the area 122-2 to be the intermediate level). Since the fixed point N1 of the configuration area 113 is represented as a virtual position of the vehicle 300, and the position of the light signal of the light bar 122 (i.e., the area 122-2) is represented as a position of the object 400 relative to the vehicle 300, it is possible for the driver to know that the object 400 is closer to the vehicle 300.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a steering wheel device 110 and two objects 400, 402 approaching a vehicle 300, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 5 mainly shows that the steering wheel device 110 can simultaneously display the situation that a plurality of objects approach the vehicle 300, so that the driver can use the light signals in the area 122-1 and the area 122-2 of the light bar 122 on the steering wheel device 110 to know that two objects 400 and 402 approach the vehicle 300, so that the driver can determine driving. The light signal of the area 122-1 exhibits red light and has the maximum light emission luminance (or has the maximum light emission frequency), indicating that the corresponding object 400 is very close to the vehicle 300. The beacon signal in the region 122-2 is orange and has an intermediate level of light emission intensity (or an intermediate level of light emission frequency), indicating that the corresponding object 402 is not as close to the vehicle 300.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a blind spot detection apparatus 600 for a vehicle according to another embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 6 is a view compared with fig. 1, and fig. 6 includes a rotation sensor 650 and a sound generator 670 on the steering wheel device 110, an acceleration sensor 660, a vehicle electronic system 680, and a vehicle audio 690 on the vehicle body 120, in addition to the light emitting device 120, the blind spot detector 130, and the controller 140 in fig. 1. The vehicle electronic system 680 of the present embodiment is an integrated vehicle electronic device and an integrated control module provided by the vehicle itself, and the vehicle electronic system 680 is used to control the blind spot detector 130 and the vehicle audio 690. The controller 140 may emit audio sound through an audio generator 670 located on the steering wheel device 110 and may also communicate with the vehicle electronics system 680 to cause the vehicle audio 690 to emit audio sound. The in-vehicle electronic system 680 may provide the detection result of whether at least one object is approaching to the controller 140. In other words, the steering wheel device 110 of the present embodiment is applicable to a warning function for communicating with the vehicle electronic system 680 used by the vehicle, and providing the warning function by using the light emitting lamp strip 122 on the steering wheel device 110 to inform the driver whether there is an object approaching the vehicle.

The rotation sensor 650 is disposed on the steering wheel device 110 and electrically coupled to the controller 140. The rotation sensor 650 is used for sensing the rotation of the steering wheel device 110 and generating a rotation detection result, and provides the rotation detection result to the controller 140. The controller 140 obtains the rotation detection result from the rotation sensor 650, and adjusts the presenting position of the light signal of the light bar 122 according to the rotation detection result, so that the disposition direction of at least one object relative to the vehicle corresponds to the presenting position of the light signal of the light bar 122, and is not changed by the rotation of the steering wheel device 110. The rotation sensor 650 may be implemented by one or a combination of a three-axis gyroscope, a level, a gravity sensor and a steering wheel gear rotation sensor, and the rotation sensor 650 and the controller 140 may be designed according to the requirement of the present embodiment as long as the relative position of at least one object on the light bar 122 and the vehicle is not changed due to the rotation of the steering wheel.

Fig. 7 is a schematic view of a light bar when the steering wheel device 110 rotates according to another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 7, from the perspective of the driver, the area 122-3 of the light bar 122 of the non-rotated steering wheel 115-1 (located above fig. 7), the area 122-4 of the steering wheel device 110 of the light bar 122 of the counterclockwise-rotated steering wheel 115-2 (located at the left lower side of fig. 7), and the area 122-5 of the steering wheel device 110 of the clockwise-rotated steering wheel 115-3 (located at the right lower side of fig. 7) are all shown in the lower right corner of the steering wheels 115-1, 155-2, and 155-3. That is, the presentation of the relative position of the at least one object to the vehicle (i.e., regions 122-3, 122-4, and 122-5) from the perspective of the driver is not altered by rotation of the steering wheel device 110.

Returning to fig. 6, the blind spot detection apparatus 600 further includes an acceleration sensor 660 located in the vehicle body 120. The acceleration sensor 660 is disposed on the vehicle body 120 and electrically coupled to the controller 140. The acceleration sensor 660 is used for sensing an acceleration magnitude and an acceleration direction of at least one object. The controller 140 obtains the acceleration magnitude and the acceleration direction of the acceleration sensor 660 to determine the distance between at least one object and the vehicle and whether a collision is likely to occur, analyzes the criticality of the object relative to the vehicle according to the distance and the collision calculation result, and provides warning information or performs a control operation according to the criticality. When the warning information occurs, it indicates that the collision or contact between the object and the vehicle is very high, and the warning information may remind the driver in a more drastic manner, for example, adjusting the light number of the light bar to a specific light number (e.g., full red light of the light bar), emitting a specific sound effect through the sound emitter 370 or the volume 690 of the vehicle, or directly controlling the traveling direction of the vehicle through the vehicle electronic system 680, performing braking or corresponding control operation to automatically avoid collision with the object. The controller 140 can also adjust one or a combination of the color, the flashing frequency and the light-emitting brightness of the light signal of the light bar 122 as the warning information to present the distance between the vehicle body 120 and the object, the acceleration value or the danger degree of the object relative to the vehicle body 120.

The blind spot detector 130 in fig. 6 may be one or a combination of a radar range finder 631, an image extractor 632, an ultrasonic sensor 633 and an electromagnetic wave sensor 634. The electronic system 680 or the controller 140 can also determine whether the approaching object is a specific vehicle type, such as a fire truck, an ambulance, a police car, etc., through the screen extracted by the image extractor 632, so as to provide warning information to remind the driver to control the vehicle to make a way.

Fig. 8 is a schematic view of another implementation of the structure of the steering wheel 815 and the light bar 822 in the steering wheel device 110 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The shape of the steering wheel 815 and the light bars 822 in the steering wheel device 110 can be adjusted according to the needs of the user, and the light bars 822 need to be erected around the fixed point N1 on the configuration area and surround the fixed point N1, so as to achieve the technical solution described in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart of a blind spot detection method for a vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The blind spot detection method is suitable for the blind spot detection apparatuses 100 and 600 of fig. 1 to 8, and can be implemented by the controller 140. The blind spot detection method 900 includes the following steps. In step S910, the controller 140 detects whether at least one object is approaching around the vehicle through the blind spot detector 130 disposed on the vehicle. The steering wheel device 110 of the vehicle is provided with a light emitting device 120, a light emitting bar 122 of the light emitting device 120 is mounted on the arrangement area of the steering wheel device 110, and the light emitting bar 122 surrounds one point of the arrangement area 113. In step S920, the controller 140 obtains a detection result of whether at least one object is approaching from the blind spot detector 130, and controls the light signal of the light bar 122 through the dimming driver 125 of the lighting device 120, so that the relative position between the at least one object and the vehicle and the distance between the at least one object and the vehicle are presented through the light signal of the light bar 122. For details of the corresponding actions of the blind spot detection method, please refer to the above-mentioned embodiment.

In summary, in the embodiments of the invention, the light bars (e.g., led light bars) are disposed around the specific area on the steering wheel of the vehicle, and the detection results of the blind spot detection sensors are matched to instantly present the objects (e.g., other vehicles, pedestrians, objects, etc.) near the periphery of the vehicle, the relative positions corresponding to the vehicles, and the distance between the two objects. Therefore, the present embodiment utilizes the light signal position of the light bar to let the driver know whether the object is near around the vehicle, and matches the color of the light signal, the light flashing frequency, the light emitting brightness and/or the sound effect presented on the light bar to let the driver know the distance degree of the object around the vehicle. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the rotation sensor is additionally disposed in the steering wheel, so that the position of the light signal on the light bar can be adjusted along with the rotation of the steering wheel, so as to maintain the relative relationship between the virtual vehicle position and the light presenting position.