DE102012006206B4 - Method and device for detecting an imminent collision between a towing vehicle and its trailer - Google Patents

Abstract

Method for detecting an impending collision between a towing vehicle (10) and its trailer (1), comprising detecting a position of the trailer (1) with respect to the towing vehicle (10), and detecting the imminent collision depending on the detected position, wherein a current articulation angle ( δ) with respect to a trailer coupling (7) of the towing vehicle (10), and the position of the trailer (1) with respect to the towing vehicle (10) depending on the current articulation angle (δ) and a maximum articulation angle (δmax) with respect to the trailer coupling (7 ) of the towing vehicle (10) is detected, with the maximum articulation angle (δmax) automatically depending on a distance (IK2) between a rear and the trailer hitch (7) of the towing vehicle (10), on a distance (IÜ) between a front part of the trailer and the trailer hitch (7) and a width (BAnh) of the trailer (1) or a width (BFzg) of the towing vehicle (10).

Description

The present invention relates to a method and a device for detecting an impending collision between a towing vehicle and its trailer. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a vehicle with such a device.

the DE 10 2009 007 990 A1 describes a method for determining trailer data using existing distance sensors in the rear area of the towing vehicle. It is disclosed how a drawbar length is determined using measured values from two external distance sensors.

the DE 10 2004 009 187 A1 relates to a control system for a combination of a towing vehicle and a trailer, working with an articulation angle sensor or with a drawbar angle sensor.

the DE 10 2004 009 465 A1 also relates to a control system for a combination of towing vehicle and trailer. In this case, the achievable vehicle speed can be limited, taking into account the articulation angle or the drawbar angle, in order to avoid unstable states.

the DE 101 54 612 A1 relates to a device for steering a towing vehicle with a trailer when reversing, with an electronic control unit that specifies at least corrections for the steering angle of the steerable wheels of the towing vehicle as a function of the angle between the longitudinal axis of the towing vehicle and the longitudinal axis of the trailer or the trailer drawbar.

the DE 100 65 230 A1 relates to a method and a system, in particular a control and/or regulation system, for facilitating the maneuvering and/or reversing of a vehicle with a trailer. In addition, the invention also relates to a vehicle for towing a trailer.

When maneuvering a combination consisting of a towing vehicle and a trailer, the trailer may swivel out too much in relation to the towing vehicle (i.e. the articulation angle is too great), at which point the trailer collides with the rear bumper of the towing vehicle.

The object of the present invention is therefore to warn the driver of the towing vehicle of such a collision or to avoid such a collision.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by a method for detecting an imminent collision between a towing vehicle and its trailer according to claim 1, by a device for detecting an imminent collision between a towing vehicle and its trailer according to claim 9 and by a vehicle according to claim 12. The dependent claims define preferred and advantageous embodiments of the present invention.

Within the scope of the present invention, a method for detecting an imminent collision between a towing vehicle and its trailer is provided. A position of the trailer relative to the towing vehicle is automatically detected and the impending collision is detected or determined depending on the detected position.

By detecting the position of the trailer in relation to the towing vehicle that is towing the trailer, this relative position can be used, for example, to determine the distance between the towing vehicle and the trailer, and therefore the risk of an imminent collision can be determined using this position or this distance .

According to the invention, a current articulation angle with respect to the trailer hitch of the towing vehicle is detected and the position of the trailer with respect to the towing vehicle is detected as a function of the current articulation angle and the maximum articulation angle with respect to the trailer hitch.

The articulation angle is defined as an angle between the longitudinal axis of the towing vehicle and the longitudinal axis of the trailer. The articulation angle is positive regardless of whether the trailer is pivoted to the right or to the left of the longitudinal center axis of the towing vehicle. You can also imagine this in such a way that the amount of the kink angle is given as the kink angle. The maximum articulation angle is that articulation angle at which there is just no collision between the towing vehicle and the trailer. In other words, the towing vehicle will collide with its trailer if the current articulation angle is greater than the maximum articulation angle. It is assumed that the rear of the vehicle is symmetrical to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle and the front of the trailer is symmetrical to the longitudinal axis of the trailer, so that the maximum articulation angle applies both to swinging the trailer to the right and to swinging the trailer to the left .

In this first embodiment, any device with which the current kink angle is determined is sufficient (e.g. a kink angle sensor) and knowledge of the maximum articulation angle in order to detect the impending collision. On the one hand, a sensor system installed in the trailer head of the towing vehicle can be used as an articulation angle sensor. However, it is also possible to detect the articulation angle with a camera, so that the articulation angle sensor includes a camera or is a camera.

The maximum articulation angle can automatically depending on a distance between a rear (rear side, usually the rear bumper) and a trailer hitch of the towing vehicle, from a distance between a front part of the trailer and the trailer hitch (when the trailer is coupled) and from a Width of the trailer or be determined by a width of the towing vehicle. The front part of the trailer is understood to be that part of the trailer which can collide with the rear of the towing vehicle when the maximum articulation angle is reached.

As a result, it is advantageously not necessary to manually determine the maximum bending angle, for example, in a cumbersome manner, in order to then z. B. manually via an input device of the towing vehicle. The automatic determination of the maximum articulation angle is particularly advantageous when different trailers are frequently used.

To automatically determine the maximum articulation angle, according to the invention, a first main variant, in which the front part of the trailer can collide against the towing vehicle, and a second main variant, in which not the front part of the trailer but (due to the distance between the front part of the trailer and the trailer hitch) only the drawbar of the trailer can hit the towing vehicle. In the first main variant, there is a first variant, in which the width of the rear of the towing vehicle is wider than the width of the front part of the trailer, and on the other hand a second variant, in which the width of the front part of the trailer is wider than the width of the towing vehicle is.

In the following equation (1), the maximum articulation angle δ _max for the first variant of the first main variant is dependent on B _Anh (width of the front part of the trailer), I _Ü (distance between the trailer hitch and the front part of the trailer) and I _K2 (the distance between the rear of the towing vehicle and the trailer hitch of the towing vehicle). $${\delta }_{\text{Max}}=180°-\text{arctan}\frac{B_{AnH}}{2\times I_{\ddot{u}}}-\text{arccos}\frac{l_{K2}}{\sqrt{I_{\ddot{u}}^2+\frac{B_{A\mathrm{<figure-callout\; id="2"\; label="n\; H"\; filenames="DE102012006206B4\_0008.png"\; state="\{\{state\}\}">n</figure-callout>}H}^2}{4}}}$$

The following equation (2) gives the maximum articulation angle δ _max for the second variant of the first main variant depending on B _FZg (width of the rear of the towing vehicle), I _Ü (distance between the trailer hitch and the front part of the trailer) and I _K2 (the distance between the rear of the towing vehicle and the towbar of the towing vehicle). $${\delta }_{\text{Max}}=180°-\text{arccos}\frac{I_{\ddot{u}}}{\sqrt{I_{\ddot{u}}^2+\frac{B_{\mathrm{<figure-callout\; id="2"\; label="f\; e.g\; G"\; filenames="DE102012006206B4\_0008.png"\; state="\{\{state\}\}">f</figure-callout>}\mathrm{e.g}G}^2}{4}}}-\text{arctan}\frac{B_{\mathrm{<figure-callout\; id="2"\; label="f\; e.g\; G"\; filenames="DE102012006206B4\_0008.png"\; state="\{\{state\}\}">f</figure-callout>}\mathrm{e.g}G}}{2\times I_{\mathrm{<figure-callout\; id="2"\; label="K"\; filenames="DE102012006206B4\_0008.png"\; state="\{\{state\}\}">K</figure-callout>}2}}$$

There are also two variants of the second main variant. According to the first variant of the second main variant, the drawbar of the trailer is rod-shaped, while the second variant of the second main variant is a so-called V-shaped drawbar.

According to the following equation (3), the maximum articulation angle δ _max for the first variant of the second main variant can be determined depending on B _FZg (width of the rear of the towing vehicle) and I _K2 (the distance between the rear of the towing vehicle and the trailer hitch of the towing vehicle). $${\delta }_{\text{Max}}=180°-\text{arctan}\frac{B_{\mathrm{<figure-callout\; id="2"\; label="f\; e.g\; G"\; filenames="DE102012006206B4\_0008.png"\; state="\{\{state\}\}">f</figure-callout>}\mathrm{e.g}G}}{2\times {\mathrm{<figure-callout\; id="2"\; label="I\; K"\; filenames="DE102012006206B4\_0008.png"\; state="\{\{state\}\}">I</figure-callout>}}_K}$$

With the following equation (4), the maximum articulation angle for the second variant of the second main variant can be dependent on B _Fzg (width of the rear of the towing vehicle), I _K2 (the distance between the rear of the towing vehicle and the trailer hitch of the towing vehicle) and the angle β (Angle enclosed by the V drawbar) can be determined. $${\delta }_{\text{Max}}=180°-\text{arctan}\frac{B_{\mathrm{<figure-callout\; id="2"\; label="f\; e.g\; G"\; filenames="DE102012006206B4\_0008.png"\; state="\{\{state\}\}">f</figure-callout>}\mathrm{e.g}G}}{2\times {\mathrm{<figure-callout\; id="2"\; label="I\; K"\; filenames="DE102012006206B4\_0008.png"\; state="\{\{state\}\}">I</figure-callout>}}_K}-\frac{\mathrm{<figure-callout\; id="2"\; label="\beta "\; filenames="DE102012006206B4\_0008.png"\; state="\{\{state\}\}">\beta </figure-callout>}}{2}$$

The parameters that depend on the towing vehicle, such as the width B _Fzg and the distance I _K2 , must be specified once, for example, when the towing vehicle is manufactured.

The width B _Anh of the trailer can be determined automatically with a camera of the towing vehicle which is aimed at the trailer. The distance I _Ü between the front part of the trailer and the hitch can be determined using a structure-from-motion approach.

For this purpose, the camera of the towing vehicle, which is aimed at the trailer, is used to capture images of the trailer while driving and thus during the movement of the trailer, which thus result in an image sequence of the moving trailer. In order to determine the distance I _ü , the spatial information contained in the image sequence (more precisely in the differences between the individual images) is determined. With the structure-from-motion approach, a 3D point cloud is created from the image sequence, which consists of points with the respective spatial coordinates (x,y,z coordinates). Based on this cloud of points, an algorithm can be used to determine the distance between the front part of the trailer and the trailer hitch I _ü .

Finally, in the case of a V-drawbar, the angle can be determined from the distance I _Ü between the front part of the trailer and the trailer hitch and the width B _Anh of the trailer.

A drawbar length I _A can in turn be determined automatically while the towing vehicle with the coupled trailer is cornering as a function of the currently detected articulation angle. Equation (5) below shows how the drawbar length I _A depends on I _k (the distance between the rear axle of the towing vehicle and the trailer hitch of the towing vehicle), on I _R (the wheelbase), α _R (the wheel angle of the towing vehicle) and δ (the current kink angle) is determined. $$I_A=-I_K\text{cos}\delta -\frac{I_R\text{sin}\delta }{\text{tan}{a}_R}$$

The articulation angle can be automatically recorded by a camera or a sensor built into a ball head of the trailer hitch.

Since both the distance I _ü and the width B _Anh of the trailer can be determined automatically, only the dimensions of the towing vehicle (more precisely the width of the towing vehicle at the rear end of the towing vehicle or the width of the rear of the towing vehicle ) and the distances I _K and I _{K2 must} be known. Since these parameters of the towing vehicle generally do not change, they can be entered into the towing vehicle's on-board computer, for example, at the factory when the towing vehicle is manufactured. For example, as soon as a certain trailer is coupled to the towing vehicle (e.g. on the next journey of the combination), the distance I _ü and the width B _Anh of the trailer on the front side (i.e. the width of that side of the trailer which is the rear of the Towing vehicle in a state in which the trailer is coupled to the towing vehicle is closest) determined, so that depending on this and knowing the sizes of the towing vehicle, the maximum articulation angle can be determined automatically.

According to the invention, a warning is generated whenever an angle difference between the maximum articulation angle and the current articulation angle (i.e. the currently measured articulation angle) is below a predetermined threshold value.

In other words, the articulation angle is constantly determined and a difference between the maximum articulation angle and the current articulation angle is calculated. As soon as this difference is less than the predetermined threshold value, the corresponding warning is generated in order, for example, to inform the driver of the towing vehicle of the impending collision between the towing vehicle and the trailer.

It is also possible for the towing vehicle to be braked automatically when the angular difference between the maximum articulation angle and the current articulation angle falls below a further predetermined threshold value. In this case, this further threshold value can correspond to the predetermined threshold value.

The automatic braking of the combination, which consists of the towing vehicle and the trailer coupled to it, on the one hand advantageously prevents the activated function of the trailer maneuvering assistant from being dropped, which, from a certain speed, which corresponds, for example, to the further predetermined threshold value, according to the status the technology is the case. On the other hand, for a given steering angle, the articulation angle changes faster the higher the speed of the car-trailer combination, so that the rate of change of the articulation angle is advantageously also reduced by the automatic braking of the car-trailer combination. Emergency braking is also possible according to the invention. The combination is braked to a standstill if the angle difference is below the further threshold value.

In addition, it is possible to intervene automatically in the steering of the towing vehicle if the angle difference between the maximum articulation angle and the current articulation angle falls below another predetermined threshold value, in order to use this intervention to reduce the angle difference to increase again or at least not to decrease any further.

This automatic intervention in the steering of the towing vehicle advantageously automatically prevents the collision between the towing vehicle and its trailer coupled to it.

According to a second embodiment of the invention, distance sensors (e.g. ultrasonic sensors) located at the rear of the towing vehicle are activated when the trailer is coupled to the towing vehicle. With these distance sensors, a distance between the towing vehicle and the trailer is determined, for example, to the right of the central longitudinal axis of the towing vehicle and to the left of the central longitudinal axis of the towing vehicle. According to this second embodiment, the position of the trailer relative to the towing vehicle is then determined as a function of these two distances detected by the distance sensors.

This second embodiment is in contrast to the prior art, in which the rear distance sensors are deactivated when a trailer is attached.

In other words, the first and second embodiments exist for determining the position of the trailer with respect to the towing vehicle. While according to the first embodiment the position is detected by determining the current articulation angle, according to the second embodiment the position of the trailer is detected by determining one or better two distances between the towing vehicle and the trailer. Since the position determination of the first embodiment is independent of the position determination of the second embodiment, the position determination of one embodiment can advantageously be checked for plausibility by the position determination of the respective other embodiment. For example, it is possible to determine the position of the trailer relative to the towing vehicle using the articulation angle (ie using the first embodiment) and to check this position determination using the second embodiment (using the distance measured with the distance sensors). If the results of the position determination of the two embodiments are different, the method according to the invention can be deactivated, for example, and a corresponding warning can be issued to the driver of the vehicle to inform him that the imminent collision between the towing vehicle and the trailer is not currently being automatically detected .

The present invention also enables automatic lateral steering of the towing vehicle and thus of the combination consisting of the towing vehicle and the trailer. The speed of the car-trailer combination can be automatically kept below a predetermined speed threshold value during the automatic lateral steering.

With the help of this automatic transverse steering, for example, a parking process (i.e. a process for parking or parking the vehicle combination) can be automated. As a rule, the lateral steering of the combination takes place automatically and the driver of the towing vehicle is responsible for the longitudinal steering (i.e. for accelerating, braking and shifting the towing vehicle).

A device for detecting an impending collision between a towing vehicle and its trailer is also provided within the scope of the present invention. The device includes a controller and one or more sensors to detect the position of the trailer relative to the towing vehicle. The device is set up in such a way that the device determines the imminent collision as a function of the detected position.

The advantages of the device according to the invention essentially correspond to the advantages of the method according to the invention, which have been explained in detail above, so that they are not repeated here.

Similar to the method according to the invention, there are two different embodiments for the device according to the invention.

According to the first embodiment of the invention, the device includes an articulation angle sensor to detect the current articulation angle with respect to the trailer hitch of the towing vehicle. The controller knows the maximum articulation angle with regard to the trailer hitch, the width of the towing vehicle and the width of the trailer. The device is able to determine the position of the trailer in relation to the towing vehicle depending on the current articulation angle and the maximum articulation angle.

According to the second embodiment of the invention, the device comprises distance sensors at the rear of the towing vehicle, with which the distance between the towing vehicle and the coupled trailer can be detected. The device activates the distance sensors when the trailer is coupled to the towing vehicle. The device is able to determine the position of the trailer in relation to the towing vehicle to be determined depending on a distance which has been detected using the distance sensors.

According to the invention, it is also possible for the device to include both a sensor for determining the current articulation angle (i.e. an articulation angle sensor) and the distance sensors. As a result, the device according to the invention is able to determine the position both based on the current articulation angle and on the basis of the distances between the towing vehicle and the trailer measured by the distance sensors, so that the impending collision is advantageously indicated both by the current articulation angle and by the distances of the Towing vehicle can be detected by the trailer.

Within the scope of the present invention, a vehicle is also provided which includes a device according to the invention.

The present invention is particularly suitable for motor vehicles to which a trailer can be coupled. Of course, the present invention is not limited to this preferred embodiment, since the present invention can also be used, at least in principle, in ships and vehicles that are rail-bound or guided by rails.

• In 1 ist ein erfindungsgemäßes Gespann aus der Vogelperspektive dargestellt.
• In 2 ist schematisch ein Gespann mit einem Anhänger mit einer V-Deichsel dargestellt.
• 3 zeigt schematisch ein erfindungsgemäßes Fahrzeug mit einer erfindungsgemäßen Vorrichtung.

The present invention is described in detail below on the basis of preferred embodiments according to the invention with reference to the figures.

• In 1 an inventive team is shown from a bird's eye view.
• In 2 a combination with a trailer with a V-drawbar is shown schematically.
• 3 shows schematically a vehicle according to the invention with a device according to the invention.

In 1 a vehicle 10 according to the invention is shown which is coupled to a trailer 1 . The reference number 4 denotes the longitudinal center axis of the vehicle 10 and the reference number 5 denotes the longitudinal center axis of the trailer 1 . These two longitudinal central axes 4, 5 enclose the so-called bending angle δ.

The distance sensors K, L, M, N, S, T are located at the front of the vehicle 10 and the distance sensors O, P, Q, R, U, V are located at the rear of the vehicle 10. These distance sensors are, for example, ultrasonic sensors executed and warn the driver of the vehicle 10 if the respective distance sensor detects an object at a distance below a predetermined threshold value from the vehicle 10, for example during a parking process of the vehicle 10.

One recognizes in 1 that the minimum distance between the distance sensor R or Q and the trailer 1 is dependent on the current articulation angle δ. The larger the articulation angle δ, the smaller the minimum distance between the distance sensor R or Q and the trailer 1. In other words, the distance between the rear of the towing vehicle 10 and the trailer 1 can be determined by corresponding measurement results from the distance sensor R or Q (or the distance sensor O or P on the other side) can be determined. On the other hand, this distance can be determined using the bending angle δ or more precisely by the difference between the maximum bending angle and the current bending angle δ.

In 2 a combination of a towing vehicle 10 and a trailer 1 is shown. In this embodiment, the trailer 1 has a V-drawbar, which encloses an angle β.

In 3 the vehicle 10 according to the invention is shown with a device 20 according to the invention. The device 20 according to the invention in turn comprises a controller 2, an articulation angle sensor 3 and a camera 6. The camera 6 can automatically measure the width of the front of the trailer 1 (ie the width of that side of the trailer 1 which faces the towing vehicle 10 in the coupled state ) are determined. The drawbar length can be detected on the basis of the articulation angle δ, which is constantly detected by the articulation angle sensor 3, when the combination 1, 10 is cornering. About the known distance I _K2 between the rear and the trailer hitch on the towing vehicle, the distance I _Ü between the front part of the trailer 1 and the trailer hitch 7 to be determined using a structure-from-motion approach, for example, and via the width B _Anh of the trailer 1 or the width B _FZg of the rear of the towing vehicle 10, the maximum articulation angle δ _max at which the trailer 1 collides with the towing vehicle 10 can then be determined. The controller can constantly determine the angle difference between the current articulation angle δ and the maximum articulation angle. As soon as the controller detects that this angular difference is below a predetermined threshold value, the controller 2 issues a visual, acoustic and/or haptic warning to the driver and/or intervenes in the form of a braking intervention or in the form of an automatic intervention in the lateral steering of the vehicle 10 in the guidance of the vehicle 10 in order to warn of the collision or even to automatically avoid the collision.

It should be pointed out that the camera 6 can also be used as a kink angle sensor can. In this case, the actual articulation angle sensor 5 could be omitted and the camera 6 used to determine the width of the trailer 1 and to determine the current articulation angle δ.

Claims (12)

A method for detecting an imminent collision between a towing vehicle (10) and its trailer (1), comprising detecting a position of the trailer (1) with respect to the towing vehicle (10), and detecting the impending collision depending on the detected position, with a current articulation angle (δ) is detected with respect to a trailer hitch (7) of the towing vehicle (10), and the position of the trailer (1) with respect to the towing vehicle (10) depends on the current articulation angle (δ) and a maximum articulation angle (δ _max ) with respect to the Trailer hitch (7) of the towing vehicle (10) is detected, the maximum articulation angle (δ _max ) automatically depending on a distance (I _K2 ) between a rear and the trailer hitch (7) of the towing vehicle (10), from a distance (I _Ü ) between a front part of the trailer and the trailer hitch (7) and a width (B _Anh ) of the trailer (1) or a width (B _Fzg ) of the towing vehicle (10) is determined. procedure after claim 1 , characterized in that the distance (lü) is determined automatically during cornering of the towing vehicle (10) with the coupled trailer (1) by means of a structure-from-motion approach. procedure after claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that the width of the trailer (1) is determined automatically with a camera (6) of the towing vehicle (10). Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a warning is generated if an angular difference between the maximum articulation angle (δ _max ) and the current articulation angle (δ) falls below a predetermined threshold value. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the towing vehicle (10) is braked automatically when an angular difference between the maximum articulation angle (δ _max ) and the current articulation angle (δ) falls below a predetermined threshold value. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that an intervention in a steering of the towing vehicle (10) is carried out automatically if an angular difference between the maximum articulation angle (δ _max ) and the current articulation angle (δ) falls below a predetermined threshold value to increase the angle difference by engaging. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that on the rear side of the towing vehicle (10) existing distance sensors (O, R, U, V) are activated when the trailer (1) is coupled to the towing vehicle (10) that with the distance sensors (O, R, U, V) a distance between the towing vehicle (10) and the trailer (1) is detected, and that the position of the trailer (1) relative to the towing vehicle (10) depends on that with the distance sensors (O, R, U, V) detected distance is detected. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the towing vehicle (10) is automatically laterally steered and that the speed of the towing vehicle (10) is automatically kept below a predetermined speed threshold value as long as the lateral steering takes place automatically. Device for detecting an imminent collision between a towing vehicle (10) and its trailer (1), the device (20) having a controller (2) and at least one sensor (3) for detecting a position of the trailer (1) with respect to the towing vehicle ( 10), and wherein the device (20) is designed to detect the impending collision as a function of the detected position, the at least one sensor having an articulation angle sensor (3) for detecting a current articulation angle (δ) with respect to a trailer hitch (7) of the towing vehicle (10), the controller (2) being able to specify a width of the towing vehicle (10) and a width of the trailer (1), the device (20) being designed to determine the position of the trailer (1) with respect to the to determine the towing vehicle (10) as a function of the current articulation angle (δ) and a maximum articulation angle (δ _max ) with respect to a trailer hitch (7) of the towing vehicle (10), and wherein the device (20) is designed by the maximum bending angle (δ _max ) automatically depending on a distance (I _K2 ) between a rear and the trailer hitch (7) of the towing vehicle (10), from a distance (I _Ü ) between a front part of the trailer and the trailer hitch (7) and of a width (B _Anh ) of the trailer (1) or to determine a width (B _Fzg ) of the towing vehicle (10). device after claim 9 , characterized in that the at least one sensor on the rear side of the towing vehicle (10) comprises distance sensors (O, R, U, V) that the distance sensors (O, R, U, V) for detecting a distance between the towing vehicle (10) and the trailer (1) are designed in that the device (20) is designed to activate the distance sensors (O, R, U, V) when the trailer (1) is coupled to the towing vehicle (10). , and that the device (20) is designed to determine the position of the trailer (1) with respect to the towing vehicle (10) as a function of the distance detected by the distance sensors (O, R, U, V). device after claim 9 or 10 , characterized in that the device (20) for carrying out the method according to any one of Claims 1 - 8th is designed. Vehicle with a device (20) according to one of claims 9 - 11 .

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