DETERMINING LOW-SPEED DRIVING DIRECTION IN A VEHICLE

• US 20100318255A1
• Filed: 02/11/2010
• Published: 12/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH, Robert Bosch LLC (Robert Bosch GmbH)
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Hu, Jiamu, Ridley, Timothy, Li, Qingyuan, Wu, Hsien-cheng (Kevin), Hoerauf, Tim
• Granted Patent: US 8,880,288 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/29
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/32 Driving direction
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2201/10 Automatic or semi-automatic parking aid systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/172 Determining control parameters used in the regulation, e.g. by calculations involving measured or detected parameters B60T8/17551 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/06 Automatic manoeuvring for parking
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/10 related to vehicle motion
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/0285 Parking performed automatically
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2059/443 Detecting travel direction, e.g. the forward or reverse movement of the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2059/663 Road slope
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 59/44 dependent on machine speed of the machine, e.g. the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 59/66 Road conditions, e.g. slope, slippery
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 13/04 Indicating positive or negative direction of a linear movement or clockwise or anti-clockwise direction of a rotational movement
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/021 specially adapted to land vehicles

Abstract

A method and a system of determining a driving direction of a vehicle traveling at a low speed. The method includes determining whether the vehicle is in one of three states: (1) an uphill state in which the vehicle is located on an upward sloping surface, (2) a downhill state in which the vehicle is located on a downward sloping surface, and (3) a flat surface state in which the vehicle is located on a flat surface. The method also includes obtaining information from a plurality of vehicle sensors and determining a direction of movement of the vehicle based upon the determined state of the vehicle and information from the plurality of vehicle sensors.

Claims

1. A method of determining a driving direction of a vehicle traveling at a low speed, the method comprising:

determining whether the vehicle is in one of three states,

(1) an uphill state in which the vehicle is located on an upward sloping surface,

(2) a downhill state in which the vehicle is located on a downward sloping surface, and

(3) a flat surface state in which the vehicle is located on a flat surface;

obtaining information from a plurality of vehicle sensors; and

determining a direction of movement of the vehicle based upon the determined state of the vehicle and information from the plurality of vehicle sensors.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein determining whether the vehicle is in the uphill state includes evaluating whether a sensor signal from a longitudinal acceleration sensor is greater than a predetermined uphill threshold, and determining whether the vehicle is in the downhill state includes evaluating whether the sensor signal from the longitudinal acceleration sensor is greater than a predetermined downhill threshold, and determining whether the vehicle is in the flat surface state includes evaluating whether the sensor signal from the longitudinal acceleration sensor is between the predetermined uphill threshold and the predetermined downhill threshold.

3. The method according to claim 1 further comprising evaluating a derivative of a signal from one or more wheel speed sensors during a previous time period and determining whether the vehicle was previously accelerating or decelerating based upon the evaluation.

4. The method according to claim 3 further comprising evaluating a derivative of a signal from one or more wheel speed sensors and determining whether the vehicle is currently accelerating or decelerating based upon the evaluation.

5. The method according to claim 3 further comprising evaluating a signal from a longitudinal acceleration sensor when the vehicle first moves from a standstill minus the signal from the longitudinal acceleration sensor when the vehicle is substantially stationary and determining whether a vehicle'"'"'s drive force is greater, equal to, or less than a weight of the vehicle.

6. The method according to claim 3 further comprising determining whether a brake of the vehicle is engaged by evaluating a signal from a brake light switch sensor.

7. The method according to claim 3 further comprising determining a state of a transmission of the vehicle by evaluating a signal from a gear shift sensor.

8. The method according to claim 1 further comprising multiplying a steering angle sensor signal by a yaw rate sensor signal.

9. The method according to claim 8 further comprising multiplying a steering angle sensor signal by a lateral acceleration sensor signal.

10. A system for determining a driving direction of a vehicle traveling at a low speed, the system comprising:

a controller;

a plurality of sensors connected to the controller, each of the sensors configured to transmit information to the controller; and

a network connecting the sensors to the controller;

wherein, the controller is programmed to determine whether the vehicle is in one of three states;

(1) an uphill state in which the vehicle is located on an upward sloping surface, (2) a downhill state in which the vehicle is located on a downward sloping surface, and (3) a flat surface state in which the vehicle is located on a flat surface, and determine a direction of movement of the vehicle based upon the determined state of the vehicle and information from the plurality of sensors.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the controller further comprises a low-speed driving direction detection (“

LSDDD”

) module that receives sensor signals from the sensors and determines and outputs the driving direction of the vehicle.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the controller further comprises an automatic parallel parking control module, and wherein the automatic parallel parking control module receives a direction indicator from the LSDDD module and controls the vehicle to perform a parallel parking maneuver.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the controller is programmed to determine the uphill state of the vehicle by evaluating whether a sensor signal from a longitudinal acceleration sensor is greater than a predetermined uphill threshold, and the controller is programmed to determine the downhill state of the vehicle by evaluating whether the sensor signal from the longitudinal acceleration sensor is greater than a predetermined downhill threshold, and the controller is programmed to determine the flat surface state of the vehicle by evaluating whether the sensor signal from the longitudinal acceleration sensor is between the predetermined uphill threshold and the predetermined downhill threshold.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the controller is programmed to evaluate a derivative of a signal from one or more wheel speed sensors during a previous time period and to determine whether the vehicle was previously accelerating or decelerating based upon the evaluation.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the controller is programmed to evaluate a derivative of a signal from one or more wheel speed sensors and to determine whether the vehicle is currently accelerating or decelerating based upon the evaluation.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the controller is programmed to evaluate a signal from a longitudinal acceleration sensor when the vehicle first moves from a standstill minus the signal from the longitudinal acceleration sensor when the vehicle is substantially stationary and to determine whether a vehicle'"'"'s drive force is greater, equal to, or lower than a weight of the vehicle.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the controller is programmed to determine whether a brake of the vehicle is engaged by evaluating a signal from a brake light switch sensor.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the controller is programmed to determine a state of a transmission of the vehicle by evaluating a signal from a gear shift sensor.

19. The system of claim 10, wherein the controller is programmed to multiply a steering angle sensor signal by a yaw rate sensor signal.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the controller is programmed to multiply a steering angle sensor signal by a lateral acceleration sensor signal.