Method and apparatus for determining the operation of a vehicle safety system

• US 10,366,285 B2
• Filed: 04/09/2015
• Issued: 07/30/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC (Estate of Heinz Hermann Thiele)
• Original Assignee: Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC (Estate of Heinz Hermann Thiele)
• Inventors: Custer, Robert J, Amato, William P
• Primary Examiner(s): Czekaj, Dave
• Assistant Examiner(s): Abimbola, Kehinde
• Application Number:
  US14/682,137
• Publication Number:
  US 20160300106A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,573 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/58 Recognition of moving objects or obstacles, e.g. vehicles or pedestrians; Recognition of traffic objects, e.g. traffic signs, traffic lights or roads
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/582 of traffic signs
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/588 Recognition of the road, e.g. of lane markings; Recognition of the vehicle driving pattern in relation to the road
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/80 Recognising image objects characterised by unique random patterns
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/103 Static body considered as a whole, e.g. static pedestrian or occupant recognition

Abstract

Various embodiments of an apparatus and method for determining the operation of a vehicle safety system are disclosed. In one embodiment, the controller for a safety system comprises a sensor input for receiving a signal from a safety system sensor; a camera input for receiving a signal from a camera; and a processor having control logic. The control logic is capable of receiving the sensor signal indicating an absence of detected objects in a field of view of the safety system sensor; receiving the camera signal indicating at least one non-vehicle object identified in the field of view of the camera; and maintaining the active vehicle safety system as active in response to the sensor signal indicating the absence of detected objects and the camera signal indicating the identification of at least one visual non-vehicle object.

Claims

1. A controller for a safety system on a vehicle comprising:

a sensor input for receiving a signal from a safety system sensor;

a camera input for receiving a signal from a camera;

an environmental condition input for receiving a signal from an environmental condition device;

an output for indication of the state of the active safety system; and

a processor having control logic, the control logic capable of;

receiving the sensor signal indicating an absence of detected forward objects in a field of view of the safety system sensor;

receiving the camera signal indicating at least one non-vehicle forward object identified in the field of view of the camera;

maintaining the active vehicle safety system as active in response to the sensor signal indicating the absence of detected forward objects and the camera signal indicating the identification of at least one visual non-vehicle forward object;

deactivating the active vehicle safety system in response to the sensor signal indicating the absence of detected forward objects, the environmental condition device signal indicating the environment does not meet a predetermined value and the camera signal indicating a camera fault; and

indicating at the output that the active vehicle safety system is deactivated.

2. The controller as in claim 1, wherein the sensor signal is received from a safety system sensor capable of sensing at least one of a forward object speed, position and distance.

3. The controller as in claim 1, wherein the camera signal is received from a vehicle mounted forward viewing camera capable of identifying at least one of a pedestrian, a lane marking and a traffic sign.

4. The controller as in claim 1, further comprising an environmental condition input for receiving a signal from an environmental condition device;

wherein the control logic is further capable of receiving the environmental condition device signal indicating the environment does not meet a predetermined value; and

deactivating the active vehicle safety system in response to the sensor signal indicating the absence of detected forward objects, the environmental condition device signal indicating the environment does not meet a predetermined value and the camera signal indicating a camera fault.

5. The controller as in claim 1, further comprising:

an output for indication of the state of the active safety system;

wherein the control logic is further capable of;

indicating that the active vehicle safety system is deactivated.

6. A method for maintaining an active vehicle safety system comprising:

receiving a sensor signal indicating the absence of detected reflective forward objects in the field of view of the sensor over a predetermined period of time;

receiving a camera signal indicating at least one visual non-vehicle forward object identified in the field of view of the camera;

maintaining the active vehicle safety system as active in response to the sensor signal indicating the absence of detected reflective forward objects and the camera signal indicating at least one visual non-vehicle forward object;

receiving an environmental condition device signal indicating the environment does not meet a predetermined value;

receiving a camera signal indicating a camera fault;

deactivating the active vehicle safety system in response to the sensor signal indicating the absence of detected forward objects, the environmental condition device signal indicating the environment does not meet the predetermined value and the camera signal indicating the camera fault; and

indicating the active vehicle safety system is deactivated.

7. The method as in claim 6, further comprising:

receiving an environmental condition signal indicating the environmental condition does not meet a predetermined value;

receiving the camera signal indicating a fault; and

deactivating the active vehicle safety system in response to the sensor signal, the environmental condition signal and the camera signal.

8. The method as in claim 6, further comprising:

indicating that the active vehicle safety system is deactivated.

15. The method as in claim 6, wherein the predetermined period of time is about five minutes.

9. An active vehicle safety system comprising:

a sensor for detecting reflective objects in a field of view of the sensor;

a camera for identifying objects in a field of view of the camera;

an environmental condition device; and

a controller in communication with the sensor and the camera, the controller having control logic capable of;

receiving a sensor signal indicating the absence of reflective forward objects in the field of view of the sensor;

receiving a camera signal indicating at least one non-vehicle forward object identified in the field of view of the camera;

maintaining the active vehicle safety system as active in response to the sensor signal and the camera signal;

receiving an environmental condition device signal from the environmental condition device indicating the environment does not meet a predetermined value;

receiving a camera signal indicating a camera fault;

deactivating the active vehicle safety system in response to the sensor signal indicating the absence of detected forward objects, the environmental condition device signal indicating the environment does not meet the predetermined value and the camera signal indicating the camera fault; and

indicating the active vehicle safety system is deactivated.

10. The system as in claim 9, further comprising:

a vehicle communications bus, wherein the sensor, the camera and the controller communicate over the vehicle serial communications bus.

11. The system as in claim 9, wherein the controller is integrated with the sensor.

12. The system as in claim 9, wherein the sensor is one of a radar, an ultrasonic sensor, an infrared sensor and a laser.

13. The system as in claim 9, further comprising:

an environmental condition detection device;

wherein the control logic is further capable of;

receiving an environmental condition signal from the environmental condition detection device;

receiving a camera signal indicating a camera fault; and

deactivating the active vehicle safety system in response to the environmental condition signal indicating the environmental condition does not meet a predetermined value and the camera signal indicating a camera fault.

14. The system as in claim 13, wherein the environmental condition detection device is at least one of an ambient temperature sensor, a humidity sensor and a windshield wiper motor.