Granted Patent B1

US 12,387,689 · App. 18/780,185 · Granted Aug 12, 2025

Inventors: Lauren Schroeder Bobcik (Farmington Hills, MI); Matthew Blodgett (Tarboro, NC); Daniel Pinheiro Carlesimo (Rochester Hills, MI); Thiago Laserra Lima (Sterling Heights, MI)

Assignee: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC

G09G3/3406G06F3/013G06F3/1423G09G2360/144

Abstract

Claims (105)

1. A system for dynamic dimming of a set of displays sharing a single energy source comprises:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, the at least one memory comprising instructions that upon execution by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:

receive image data from at least one external camera of a vehicle;

upon a determination that the image data includes an external light source:

determine a light intensity level of the external light source based on the image data; and

determine a light angle of the external light source with respect to the vehicle based on the image data;

generate a desired brightness level based on the light intensity level and the light angle;

receive driver gaze data from a gaze tracking system of the vehicle;

determine a driver gaze direction based on the driver gaze data;

determine whether a first display of a plurality of displays of the vehicle is in a line of sight of the driver gaze direction; and

issue a first command to adjust a brightness level of the first display to the desired brightness level and dim the other displays of the plurality of displays to a dim brightness level, the desired brightness level being greater than the dim brightness level.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the plurality of displays are associated with a default brightness level;

the desired brightness level is greater than the default brightness level; and

the dim brightness level is less than the default brightness level.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one memory further comprises instructions that upon execution by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:

receive ambient light data from at least one ambient light sensor of the vehicle;

determine whether the ambient light data is greater than a first ambient light threshold;

upon a determination that the ambient light data is greater than the first ambient light threshold, issue a second command to adjust a hue of the first display to a day mode hue; and

upon a determination that the ambient light data is less than the first ambient light threshold, issue the second command to adjust the hue of the first display to a night mode hue.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the at least one memory further comprises instructions that upon execution by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:

determine whether the ambient light data is less than a second ambient light threshold, the second ambient light threshold being lower than the first ambient light threshold; and

issue the second command to adjust the hue of the first display to a shifted night mode hue based on the determination.

5. The system of claim 3 , wherein the at least one memory further comprises instructions that upon execution by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:

receive a driver eyesight profile; and

modify at least one of the day mode hue and the night mode hue based on the driver eyesight profile.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one memory further comprises instructions that upon execution by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to upon a determination that none of the plurality of displays are in the line of sight of the driver gaze direction, issue a third command to adjust a brightness level of each of the plurality of displays to the dim brightness level.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one memory further comprises instructions that upon execution by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to upon a determination that the driver gaze direction cannot be determined based on the gaze data, issue a fourth command to adjust a brightness level of each of the plurality of displays to a default brightness level.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one memory further comprises instructions that upon execution by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:

determine whether the vehicle is on; and

activate operation of the system for dynamic dimming of the set of displays sharing the single energy source based on the determination.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one memory further comprises instructions that upon execution by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:

receive a state of charge (SOC) value of a battery system of the vehicle;

determine whether the SOC value is below a SOC threshold; and

activate operation of the system for dynamic dimming of the set of displays sharing the single energy source based on the determination.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one memory further comprises instructions that upon execution by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:

identify a light source type of the external light source based on the light intensity level and the light angle; and

generate the desired brightness level based on the light source type of the external light source.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the external light source is one of a sun, headlights of a vehicle, a streetlight, and a billboard.

12. A method of dynamically dimming a set of displays sharing a single energy source comprising:

receiving image data from at least one external camera of a vehicle; and

upon a determination that the image data includes an external light source:

determining a light intensity level of the external light source based on the image data;

determining a light angle of the external light source with respect to the vehicle based on the image data;

generating a desired brightness level based on the light intensity level and the light angle;

receiving driver gaze data from a gaze tracking system of the vehicle;

determining a driver gaze direction based on the driver gaze data;

determining whether a first display of a plurality of displays of the vehicle is in a line of sight of the driver gaze direction; and

issuing a first command to adjust a brightness level of the first display to the desired brightness level and dim the other displays of the plurality of displays to a dim brightness level, the desired brightness level being greater than the dim brightness level.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein:

the plurality of displays are associated with a default brightness level;

the desired brightness level is greater than the default brightness level; and

the dim brightness level is less than the default brightness level.

14. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

receiving ambient light data from at least one ambient light sensor of the vehicle;

determining whether the ambient light data is greater than a first ambient light threshold;

upon a determination that the ambient light data is greater than the first ambient light threshold, issuing a second command to adjust a hue of the first display to a day mode hue; and

upon a determination that the ambient light data is less than the first ambient light threshold, issuing the second command to adjust the hue of the first display to a night mode hue.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising:

determining whether the ambient light data is less than a second ambient light threshold, the second ambient light threshold being lower than the first ambient light threshold; and

issuing the second command to adjust the hue of the first display to a shifted night mode hue based on the determination.

16. The method of claim 12 , further comprising upon a determination that none of the plurality of displays are in the line of sight of the driver gaze direction, issuing a third command to adjust a brightness level of each of the plurality of displays to the dim brightness level.

17. The method of claim 12 , further comprising upon a determination that the driver gaze direction cannot be determined based on the gaze data, issuing a fourth command to adjust a brightness level of each of the plurality of displays to the default brightness level.

18. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

identifying a light source type of the external light source based on the light intensity level and the light angle; and

generating the desired brightness level based on the light source type of the external light source.

19. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

locking a driver eye gaze;

determining an eye gaze zone, the eye gaze zone being one of a front zone, a left zone, a right zone, and undefined zone, the front zone being associated with road attention; and

determining whether the eye gaze is on a road based on the determined eye gaze zone;

upon a determination that the eye gaze is on the road; and

update a power mode zone;

update information to the road attention; and

determine whether a passenger is detected;

upon a determination that the passenger is detected:

update the power mode zone;

update the information to interior attention by the passenger and an interface to act as a wakeup event;

place passenger displays in a normal operating mode;

place passenger door switches in a regular pooling rate; and

exit passenger side modules from a pseudo sleep; and

upon a determination that the passenger is not detected:

passenger displays are able to change power modes, lower refresh rate, and lower resolution;

change the pooling rate of the passenger door switches;

reduce a network bandwidth of the passenger side modules; and

enter the passenger side modules into the pseudo sleep; and

upon a determination that the eye gaze is not on the road:

update the power mode zone; and

update the information to interior attention;

place the passenger displays in the normal operating mode;

place the passenger door switches in the regular pooling rate; and

exit the passenger side modules from the pseudo sleep.

20. A vehicle including a system for dynamic dimming of a set of displays sharing a single energy source comprises:

at least one external camera;

at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one external camera; and

at least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, the at least one memory comprising instructions that upon execution by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:

receive image data from the at least one external camera;

upon a determination that the image data includes an external light source:

determine a light intensity level of the external light source based on the image data; and

determine a light angle of the external light source with respect to the vehicle based on the image data;

generate a desired brightness level based on the light intensity level and the light angle;

receive driver gaze data from a gaze tracking system of the vehicle;

determine a driver gaze direction based on the driver gaze data;

determine whether a first display of a plurality of displays of the vehicle is in a line of sight of the driver gaze direction; and

issue a first command to adjust a brightness level of the first display to the desired brightness level and dim the other displays of the plurality of displays to a dim brightness level, the desired brightness level being greater than the dim brightness level.

Assignments (1)

References Cited (17)