DE102015208570A1 - Method for controlling vehicle functions - Google Patents

Abstract

A method (1) for controlling vehicle functions is provided, the method (1) comprising: detecting (101) a position and height of an object, detecting (102) a field of view of a vehicle user, characterized in that the method further comprises: Determining (103) whether the object is in the field of view of the vehicle user, depending on the position and height of the object, and driving (104) at least one vehicle device in dependence on the determining.

Description

The present invention relates to a control of vehicle functions, in particular an adaptation of driver assistance systems.

The acoustic channel of a vehicle user comprising a plurality of acoustic signals, for example acoustic signals of the radio and / or signals of a warning device such as a parking aid and / or a hands-free device, is increasingly claimed by these different systems. More and more drivers therefore feel disturbed by audible warnings if a warning is unnecessary. This occurs, for example, when parking, when the driver has already noticed the object in the environment of the vehicle and reacts independently.

For example, the driver activates the parking aid by engaging the reverse gear and then drives towards a wall. The driver is then warned at a distance of 1.6 m to the object by the parking aid, as the wall is located in the rear of the vehicle.

The same applies to parking and maneuvering systems which cause an intervention in the longitudinal and lateral guidance of the vehicle too early and / or too strongly, even though the driver has already noticed the object. This applies, for example, to a shunting brake function with emergency braking during parking and maneuvering.

The publication DE 10 2008 019 346 A1 discloses a method and apparatus for automatically parking and unparking a vehicle. In this case, the vehicle is automatically parked by a parking system of the device as long as an adjusting device of the device is manually held by a driver of the vehicle in a predetermined position. In this case, a parking operation, which is automatically carried out by the parking system and may include one or more changes in direction as needed, continued only as long as the actuator by a driver of the vehicle manually, eg by means of a foot or by means of a finger, in a predetermined Position is held. The parking process of the vehicle can be adapted to environmental data, including moving obstacles. Moving obstacles can be, for example, passers-by approaching the parking lot or a vehicle parked in the adjacent parking lot.

The publication DE 101 09 665 A1 relates to a method for representing the environment of an object or a person, in which the environment is at least partially recorded by means of a camera and the recorded image information is processed by means of a computer device and the edited information is displayed on a display device. Objects located in the environment are detected by evaluating the recorded image information and at least one of the objects is marked by means of a marker inserted in the image information. It also called alternative methods for classifying the surrounding objects, such as the detection of moving objects, such as people, height detection of obstacles or the automatic detection of vacant parking spaces with evaluation of the available space.

According to the document DE 10 2011 084 367 A1 a warning is issued in front of an object in the vehicle environment if the object was perceived by the driver. The method for determining a driver-side perception of an object located in the vicinity of a motor vehicle comprises several steps. On the one hand, the position of an object and / or the direction of the object is determined. In addition, the line of sight of the driver is determined. In the next step, it is checked whether the driver's gaze hits the object by evaluating the driver's line of sight and the position and / or direction of the object. In the following step, a determination of a driver-side perception of the object as a function of the duration, that is, how long the driver's gaze hits the object, depending on the number, that is, how often the driver's gaze hits the same object and / or depending on the frequency, that is, how often the driver's gaze hits the same object per unit time.

In the cited document DE 10 2011 084 367 A1 however, neglects what influence, for example, lower objects have, for example when a low object is obscured and can not be perceived by the vehicle user.

In the above references, therefore, the height of an object is not taken into account in connection with the perception by a vehicle user.

It is therefore an object of the present application to provide a method and a corresponding device for controlling vehicle functions, in particular for adapting vehicle functions, in which a detection of whether a driver can perceive an object is improved.

This object is achieved according to the present invention by a method according to claim 1 and a device according to claim 9. The subclaims define further embodiments of the present invention.

The inventive method for controlling vehicle functions, in particular for adapting driver assistance systems, comprises detecting a position and height of an object and detecting a field of view of a vehicle user, the method being characterized in that the method further comprises determining whether the object is in the field of view of the vehicle user, depending on the position and height of the object, and driving at least one vehicle device in dependence on the determining comprises.

The position is to be understood in the context of this application as a position in the plane and the height is to be understood as a perpendicular to this plane. An object can thus be spatially detected via its position in the plane and its height.

The detection of a position and height of an object in the vicinity of a vehicle provides relevant information about collision-critical objects, such as park bollards or other vehicles, which are for example when parking or parking crucial. Different objects can have different heights, for example, a parking bollard may have a lower height compared to a vehicle or a wall, for example, adjacent to a parking lot.

A warning, for example by means of a warning device in front of an object, for example, in the vicinity of a vehicle when it is parked, can thus be done in dependence on the field of vision of the vehicle user. These functions of the controller can be used as an extension for common parking and maneuvering systems, thereby enabling a flexible adaptation of the warning of an object, for example when parking.

According to one embodiment, the method may include driving the vehicle device, driving a warning device and / or a display device, and / or adjusting a driver assistance device.

An output signal of a warning device can thus be flexibly adapted. Depending on the height of an object, for example, the vehicle user may be informed earlier via a warning device.

At the same time, in the case of a display, for example, an object that is behind a vehicle when parking, for example, can be highlighted in color compared to other objects, so that the vehicle user can quickly see which object it is and what position it has.

In addition, driving a driver assistance device may cause direct engagement in the longitudinal and transverse guidance, depending on the height and the position of an object that is located in the vicinity of the vehicle.

According to one embodiment, the activation of the warning device may cause an acoustic adjustment of a volume of the warning device and / or a time adjustment of a reproduction signal of the warning device and / or an adaptation of an optical warning device depending on the field of vision of the vehicle user.

For example, objects that were initially perceived by the vehicle user but can no longer be perceived by the driver in the further course are treated differently than objects that were not perceived by the vehicle user at any time. As a result, an individual, adapted to the perception of the vehicle user control of the warning device is possible. The vehicle user thus receives adapted warning signals and is not warned unnecessarily often or at the wrong time.

According to one embodiment, adjusting the driver assistance device may cause intervention in a longitudinal and / or a transverse guidance of the driver assistance device, depending on the position and height of the object and the visibility of the vehicle user.

This intervention in the longitudinal and / or transverse guidance allows the vehicle user to easily park and unpark.

According to one embodiment, a distance triggering threshold of the driver assistance device for an object in the vehicle environment may be changed, for example reduced or increased, depending on the position and height of the object and the field of vision of the vehicle user, and / or a triggering of the driver assistance device for an object in the vehicle environment not take place, depending on the position and height of the object and the visibility of the vehicle user.

The reduction or increase of the distance triggering threshold as a function of a relevant object and the field of view enables an efficient, situation-dependent intervention in the Longitudinal or in the transverse guide. The procedure is then no longer too early or too late, but can be timed exactly.

According to one embodiment, the detection of the field of vision of the vehicle user can take place via visible surfaces of the vehicle and surrounding cameras.

The visible surfaces of the vehicle can be, for example, the front or rear window or the side windows or else the rearview mirrors or exterior mirrors. The determination of the field of view can be done without additional hardware components, since, for example, environment cameras are already pre-installed.

According to one embodiment, the method may comprise detecting the visibility of the vehicle user, determining a viewing direction and a head position of the vehicle user, wherein the determination may be performed by means of an interior camera.

Interior cameras are already partially installed as standard in vehicles, so that these cameras can be used directly to determine the viewing direction and the head position of the vehicle user. Based on the information can be interactively determined whether the driver has perceived an object, just when the object is in his field of vision.

According to one embodiment, the detection of the position and height of the object can take place by means of environmental sensors of the vehicle, wherein the environmental sensors may be ultrasonic sensors and / or radar sensors and / or comprise a laser system and / or a LiDAR system and / or surrounding cameras.

The vehicle sensors used for this purpose are partially already installed in a standard vehicle, so that no additional components must be installed, which significantly reduces the cost.

The height detection can be done for example via the ultrasonic sensors by an echo evaluation or the image processing of the environment cameras. This ensures a reliable and redundant height measurement of an object.

An automatic selection of objects, which are located in the direction of travel-dependent travel tube, can also be done with it.

According to one embodiment, a device according to the invention may comprise first detection means for detecting a position and height of an object, wherein the first detection means may comprise at least one environment sensor for detecting the position of the object, and wherein the first detection means is an environment camera and / or a laser system and or a LiDAR system for detecting the height of the object, and wherein the device may further comprise a second detection device for detecting a field of vision of a vehicle user, and a determination device which may be configured to determine whether the object is in the field of vision of the vehicle user depending on the position and height of the object, and wherein the device may further comprise a driving device that may be configured to drive at least one vehicle device in response to the determining.

The device according to the invention has the same advantages as the already discussed advantages of the method for controlling vehicle functions.

In general, the position and the height of an object with the first detection device can be determined by different sensors and / or other components of the first detection device, for example, the distance to an object can be determined by an ultrasonic sensor and the height of the object with a camera or a Laser. For other components, a single component can be used to determine both position and height.

According to one embodiment, the at least one vehicle device may be a warning device and / or a display device and / or a driver assistance device.

Warning, display and driver assistance devices are standard in most of the vehicles built today and are driven with standard electronics, so that no additional components are needed to implement the control device. A simultaneous, independent and situation-dependent control of the various devices is possible with the device according to the invention.

The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 shows process steps of a method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 shows a schematic representation of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. These embodiments are only examples and are not to be construed as limiting. For example, while the embodiments are described as including a variety of features and elements, in some embodiments, some of these features may be omitted and / or replaced by alternative features or elements. In other embodiments, additional or alternatively additional features or elements may be provided besides those explicitly described. Variants or modifications relating to one or more embodiments may be applied to other embodiments, unless otherwise specified.

1 shows process steps 101 - 104 a procedure 1 According to an embodiment, which are executed by a controller of a vehicle. 2 shows an example of a vehicle in which the method is carried out.

In step 101 of the procedure 1 , according to 1 , a position and height of an object is detected. As a result, relevant, collision-critical objects are detected.

For example, collision-critical objects are objects that are in the immediate vicinity of a vehicle when the vehicle is parked, for example. For example, a wall would be a collision critical object when the vehicle is approaching it to park, for example. A collision-critical object may also be a smaller object, such as a parking bollard located at the edge of the parking lot, for example next to or behind the vehicle. Humans may also be relevant objects in the above sense when they are in the vicinity of the vehicle, for example if it parks. This can be, for example, people in a parking lot who have also parked their vehicle or passers-by who pass by the vehicle when it is parked.

The detection of these objects can be done, for example, the ego vehicle on environmental sensors. Environmental sensors may be, for example, ultrasonic sensors or radar sensors. Also, a laser system or a LiDAR system for detection is conceivable, with the help of which can be determined very accurately both the position and the height of an object. However, the optical detection of an object can also happen on environmental cameras, which are already installed as standard in a new vehicle.

The height detection of an object takes place for example in ultrasonic sensors via an evaluation of the echo or in environment cameras by image processing.

When capturing relevant objects, in step 101 of the procedure 1 , according to 1 The selection of the objects in the direction of travel depends on the route.

In step 102 of the procedure 1 , according to 1 the visibility of a vehicle user is recorded. The detection of the field of view of the vehicle user includes the detection of the viewing direction and head position of a vehicle user. The viewing direction and the head position can thereby be optically detected, for example, via an interior camera installed in the interior of a vehicle.

The detection of the field of vision of the vehicle user can likewise include the determination of the field of view via visible surfaces of the vehicle. The visible surfaces can be the front, rear and side windows, as well as the rear and / or exterior mirrors. The field of view can also be determined by means of surrounding cameras, for example via the image of a reversing camera and the AreaView cameras in the display.

In a next step 103 of the procedure 1 , as in 1 shown, it is determined whether a relevant object in the before, in step 102 determined visibility of the vehicle user, depending on the position and the height of the object.

The position and height of the object is crucial. If, for example, a low-altitude object is already perceived by a vehicle user from afar at an earlier point in time, a corresponding warning is given earlier. If the vehicle is already so close to the low object that the vehicle user can no longer see the object, the vehicle user has already been warned.

In the final step 104 of the method, according to 1 , at least one vehicle device is driven, depending on the determination.

The control takes place on the basis of the evaluation of the information about the object or the objects that are located in the immediate vicinity of the vehicle. In doing so, the information about the position and the height of the object evaluated and the information about whether the corresponding object or the corresponding objects in the field of view of the vehicle user.

After evaluation of the information described above now at least one vehicle device is driven. The vehicle device may be, for example, a warning device and / or a display device and / or a driver assistance device.

The acoustic warning device has, for example, loudspeakers which acoustically inform the vehicle user how far away the vehicle is from an object. Detecting relevant objects perceived by the vehicle user may then result in an adjustment of the warning device's volume. For example, the volume can be reduced for objects perceived by the vehicle user.

In addition, a change of a display device is possible, depending on the position and height of the object and the perception of the object by the vehicle user.

The change in the display of relevant objects that are perceived by the driver, for example, be an adjustment of the object color, that is, for example, the change from red or yellow to gray or a suppression of objects that were perceived by the driver.

In addition, adjustment of the distance range of the audible or visual warning may occur for objects perceived by the vehicle user. For example, a later warning may be issued for objects perceived by the vehicle user.

In addition, a reduction in the distance triggering threshold for engaging the longitudinal guide (e.g., braking engagement) or engaging the transverse guide (e.g., steering to avoid an object) may occur on relevant objects perceived by the driver.

In an alternative embodiment, objects that were initially perceived by the vehicle user, but in the course, for example when approaching the object, can no longer be perceived by the vehicle user, for example, as a result of the height of the object or a poorer view through one of Window of the vehicle, treated differently, as objects that were never perceived by the driver. These objects also allow adaptation of the warning or intervention that differs from objects that have never been perceived.

This is the case when parking, for example, when the vehicle user drives in the direction of a wall, in front of which a parking bollard is additionally placed. When parking, the vehicle user activated by inserting the reverse gear, the parking aid of the vehicle. He then drives backwards to the wall in front of which there is a low parking bollard. The vehicle user is warned against the wall very late, namely only at a distance of about 30 cm, because he has them constantly in view.

The vehicle user perceives the parking bollard at a large distance. However, he can no longer perceive the parking bollard due to the restricted view through the rear window. The warning for the parking bollard is therefore earlier than for the wall, for example at a distance of about 1 m.

In an alternative example, the vehicle user again activates the parking aid by engaging the reverse gear and then moves backwards to a wall in front of which a low parking bollard is located. The vehicle user does not notice the park bollard. The warning for the parking bollard takes place earlier than for the parking bollard of the previous example, since the parking bollard was never seen by the vehicle user, which would be the case, for example, at a distance of 1.6 m.

2 shows a vehicle 2 that a device 201 and a vehicle device 206 includes.

The device 201 includes a first detection device 202 and a second detection device 203 ,

The first detection device 202 is set up to determine a position and height of an object located in the vicinity of the vehicle. The detection device may include environment sensors, such as ultrasonic sensors, radar sensors, lasers, LiDAR or environment cameras.

The second detection device 203 serves to detect a field of vision of a vehicle user. This second detection device 203 For example, it may include an interior camera installed in the interior of a vehicle. This interior camera can then determine, for example, the head position of the vehicle user and his line of sight.

In addition, the device has 201 , as in 2 shown, via a determination device 204 adapted to determine whether an object is in the field of vision of the vehicle user, depending on the position and height of the object.

The determining device 204 in 2 provides a driving device 205 Input values for driving at least one vehicle device 206 , The vehicle device may, according to 2 a warning device 207 and / or a display device 208 and / or a driver assistance device 209 include.

The warning device 207 may include speakers that can output an audible warning to the vehicle user, for example, a warning of an obstacle when parking.

The display device 208 , according to 2 is installed as standard in vehicles and can graphically display objects and, depending on their importance, mark them in color or, for example, show or hide objects depending on the situation.

The driver assistance device 209 can enable the driver to automatically park and unpark.

The procedure 1 is through the device 201 in a vehicle, for example like the one in 2 shown vehicle 2 executed. The procedure 1 and the device 201 according to 1 and 2 can be used with parking aids, park assistants, intelligent parking assistants, parking brake assistants, parking garage assistants and maneuvering assistants. In addition, they can be used in all means of transportation with parking and maneuvering functions.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1

method

101-104

steps

2

vehicle

201

contraption

202

first detection device

203

second detection device

204

determiner

205

driving means

206

vehicle device

207

warning device

208

display device

209

Driver assistance device

QUOTES INCLUDE IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of the documents listed by the applicant has been generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Cited patent literature

• DE 102008019346 A1 [0005]
• DE 10109665 A1 [0006]
• DE 102011084367 A1 [0007, 0008]

Claims (10)

Procedure ( 1 ) for controlling vehicle functions, comprising: - detecting ( 101 ) a position and height of an object, - capture ( 102 ) of a field of vision of a vehicle user, characterized in that the method further comprises: determining ( 103 ), whether the object lies in the field of vision of the vehicle user, depending on the position and height of the object, and driving ( 104 ) at least one vehicle device in response to the determining. Procedure ( 1 ) according to claim 1, characterized in that the driving of the vehicle device, a driving a warning device ( 207 ) and / or a display device ( 208 ) and / or adapting a driver assistance device ( 209 ). Procedure ( 1 ) according to claim 2, characterized in that the driving of the warning device ( 207 ) an acoustic adjustment of a volume of the warning device ( 207 ) and / or temporally adjusting a playback signal of the warning device ( 207 ) and / or adjusting an optical warning device depending on the field of vision of the vehicle user causes. Procedure ( 1 ) according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the adaptation of the driver assistance device ( 209 ) causes intervention in a longitudinal guide and / or a transverse guide of the driver assistance device, depending on the position and height of the object and the field of vision of the vehicle user. Procedure ( 1 ) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a distance triggering threshold of the driver assistance device ( 209 ) is changed for an object in the vehicle environment, depending on the position and height of the object and the field of view of the vehicle user, and / or that a triggering of the driver assistance device ( 209 ) does not take place for an object in the vehicle environment, depending on the position and height of the object and the visibility of the vehicle user. Procedure ( 1 ) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the detection of the field of vision of the vehicle user ( 102 ) over visible surfaces of the vehicle ( 2 ) and surrounding cameras. Procedure ( 1 ) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the detection of the field of vision of the vehicle user ( 102 ) comprises determining a viewing direction and a head position of the vehicle user, wherein the determination is carried out by means of an interior camera. Procedure ( 1 ) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the detection of the position and height of an object ( 101 ) by means of environment sensors of the vehicle, wherein the environmental sensors are ultrasonic sensors and / or radar sensors and / or comprise a laser system and / or a LiDAR system and / or surrounding cameras. Contraption ( 201 ) comprising: - a first detection device ( 202 ) for detecting a position and height of an object, wherein the first detection device ( 202 ) comprises at least one environment sensor for detecting the position of the object, - a second detection device ( 203 ) for detecting a field of vision of a vehicle user, characterized in that the device ( 201 ) further comprises: a determination device ( 204 ), which is set up to determine whether the object lies within the field of vision of the vehicle user, depending on the position and height of the object, and - a driving device ( 205 ), which is set up, at least one vehicle device ( 206 ) depending on the determining. Contraption ( 201 ) according to claim 9, characterized in that the at least one vehicle device ( 206 ) a warning device ( 207 ) and / or a display device ( 208 ) and / or a driver assistance device ( 209 ).

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