VEHICLE DOOR OPENING ASSESSMENTS

• US 20170297487A1
• Filed: 04/14/2016
• Published: 10/19/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/2016
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: ALI KHAN, MAQSOOD RIZWAN, CLAYWELL, MARK R., BANDARA, PULASTI
• Application Number:
  US15/099,417
• Publication Number:
  US 20170297487A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 9/008 for anti-collision purposes
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 15/40 Safety devices, e.g. detection of obstructions or end positions
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 15/73 responsive to movement or presence of persons or objects
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 2015/767 using cameras
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2900/531 Doors
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/165 for passive traffic, e.g. including static obstacles, trees
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/168 Driving aids for parking, e.g. acoustic or visual feedback on parking space

Abstract

Methods, systems, and vehicles are provided for determining whether one or more doors of a vehicle are expected to contact the one or more objects when opened. In accordance with one embodiment, the vehicle includes, in addition to the one or more doors, one or more sensors, a memory, and a processor. The one or more sensors are configured to generate sensor data pertaining to one or more objects in proximity to a vehicle. The memory is configured to store a door geometry for the one or more doors. The processor is coupled to the one or more sensors and to the memory, and is configured to at least facilitate determining whether the one or more doors are expected to contact the one or more objects when opened, using the sensor data and the door geometry.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

obtaining, via one or more sensors of a vehicle, sensor data pertaining to one or more objects in proximity to the vehicle, wherein the sensor data comprises sensor data including object distances between the one or more doors and the one or more objects in proximity to the vehicle;

obtaining, from a memory of the vehicle, a door geometry for one or more doors of the vehicle, wherein the geometry includes, for each door, multiple opening distances for the door, the multiple opening distances comprising;

a fully open distance for fully opening the door to a fully open position; and

one or more partially open distances, for partially opening the door to one or more partially open positions;

determining, via a processor, using the sensor data and the door geometry, for each of the doors;

whether the door would be expected to contact one or more of the objects if the door were to be opened to the fully open position, based on the object distances and the fully open distance; and

whether the door would be expected to contact one or more of the objects if the door were to be opened to the one or more partially open positions, based on the object distances and the one or more partially open distances;

determining, via the processor, whether one or more display conditions are satisfied; and

when the one or more display conditions are satisfied, providing a display via a display system, via instructions provided by the processor, depicting an opening of the door at each of the fully open position and the one or more partially open positions, wherein for each door, the depicting of the opening of the door comprises, for each particular position of the door;

depicting the opening of the door to the particular position in a first manner indicating that the door is unlikely to contact an object when opened to the particular position, when the door is not expected to contact one or more of the objects when opened to the particular position; and

depicting the opening of the door to the particular position in a second manner, different from the first manner, indicating that the door is likely to contact an object when opened to the particular position, when the door is expected to contact one or more of the objects when opened to the particular position.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the providing of the display comprises, for each door:

depicting an opening of the door at each of the fully open position and the one or more partially open positions, in color for each position, namely, for each particular position, namely in;

a first color prior to the door being opened, when the door is expected not to contact one or more of the objects when opened to the particular position; and

a second color, different from the first color, prior to the door being opened, when the door is expected to contact one or more of the objects when opened to the particular position.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining camera data for the vehicle from a plurality of cameras disposed at different respective locations on the vehicle;

generating a top-down view of the vehicle using the camera data; and

providing the display using the top-down view of the vehicle in combination with the depicted opening of the one or more doors.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein, when the one or more display conditions are satisfied, the step of providing the display comprises:

providing a display, for each particular position for each door, a different respective line segment corresponding to the particular position of the door, wherein the respective line segment for each particular position of the door is depicted;

in a first manner indicating that the door is unlikely to contact an object when opened to the particular position, when the door is not expected to contact one or more of the objects when opened to the particular position; and

in a second manner, different from the first manner, indicating that the door is likely to contact an object when opened to the particular position, when the door is expected to contact one or more of the objects when opened to the particular position.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the step of providing the display comprises providing the display such that:

the fully open position is represented with a first line segment; and

the one or more partially open positions are each represented with a respective second line segment, wherein each of the respective second line segments are shorter than the first line segment.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the step of providing the display comprises providing the display such that:

the respective line segment for the particular position of the door is depicted in a first color if the door is not expected to contact the object when opened to the particular position; and

the respective line segment for the particular position of the door is depicted in a second color, different from the first color, if the door is expected to contact the object when opened to the particular position.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein:

the respective line segment for the particular position of the door is depicted in green if the door is not expected to contact the object when opened to the particular position; and

the respective line segment for the particular position of the door is depicted in red if the door is expected to contact the object when opened to the particular position.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the one or more partially open positions comprise a plurality of different partially open positions;

the step of obtaining the door geometry comprises obtaining, from the memory of the vehicle, the door geometry for each of the doors of the vehicle, wherein the door geometry includes, for each door, multiple opening distances for the door, the multiple opening distances comprising;

the fully open distance for fully opening the door to the fully open position; and

a plurality of partially open distances, each of the plurality of partially open distances comprising a distance for opening the door to a respective one of the plurality of partially open positions;

the step of determining whether the door would be expected to contact one or more objects comprises determining, via the processor, using the sensor data and the door geometry, for each of the doors;

whether the door would be expected to contact one or more of the objects if the door were to be opened to the fully open position, based on the object distances and the fully open distance; and

whether the door would be expected to contact one or more of the objects if the door were to be opened to each of the plurality of positions, based on the object distances and each of the plurality of partially open distances; and

when the one or more display conditions are satisfied, the step of providing the display comprises providing the display, via instructions provided by the processor, depicting the opening of the door at each of the fully open position and each of the plurality of partially open positions, wherein for each door, the depicting of the opening of the door comprises, for each of the fully open position and each of the partially open positions;

depicting the opening of the door to the particular position in the first manner indicating that the door is unlikely to contact an object when opened to the particular position, when the door is not expected to contact one or more of the objects when opened to the particular position; and

depicting the opening of the door to the particular position in a second manner, different from the first manner, indicating that the door is likely to contact an object when opened to the particular position, when the door is expected to contact one or more of the objects when opened to the particular position.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein:

the one or more partially open positions comprise a plurality of detent positions, which the door is likely to detent to and stay at when opened, and each of which represents the door being partially opened between the closed position and the fully open position;

the step of obtaining the door geometry comprises obtaining, from the memory of the vehicle, the door geometry for each door of the vehicle, wherein the door geometry includes, for each door, multiple opening distances for the door, the multiple opening distances comprising

the fully open distance for fully opening the door to the fully open position; and

a plurality of detent distances, each of the plurality of detent distances comprising a distance for opening the door to a respective one of the plurality of detent positions;

the step of determining whether the door would be expected to contact one or more objects comprises determining, via the processor, using the sensor data and the door geometry, for each of the doors;

whether the door would be expected to contact one or more of the objects if the door were to be opened to the fully open position, based on the object distances and the fully open distance; and

whether the door would be expected to contact one or more of the objects if the door were to be opened to each of the plurality of detent positions, based on the object distances and each of the plurality of detent distances; and

when the one or more display conditions are satisfied, the step of providing the display comprises providing the display, via instructions provided by the processor, depicting the opening of the door at each of the fully open position and each of the plurality of detent positions, wherein for each door, the depicting of the opening of the door comprises, for each of the fully open position and each of the detent positions;

depicting the opening of the door to the particular position with a respective line segment in the first color indicating that the door is unlikely to contact an object when opened to the particular position, when the door is not expected to contact one or more of the objects when opened to the particular position; and

depicting the opening of the door to the particular position with the respective line segment in the second color, indicating that the door is likely to contact an object when opened to the particular position, when the door is expected to contact one or more of the objects when opened to the particular position.

2-3. -3. (canceled)

6-8. -8. (canceled)

9. A system comprising:

one or more sensors configured to generate sensor data pertaining to one or more objects in proximity to a vehicle, wherein the sensor data comprises sensor data including object distances between the one or more doors and the one or more objects in proximity to the vehicle;

a memory configured to store a door geometry for one or more doors of the vehicle, wherein the geometry includes, for each door, multiple opening distances for the door, the multiple opening distances comprising;

a fully open distance for fully opening the door to a fully open position; and

one or more partially open distances, for partially opening the door to one or more partially open positions, wherein each of the one or more partially open positions represents the door being opened between a closed position and a fully open position;

a display system; and

a processor coupled to the one or more sensors and to the memory, the processor configured to at least facilitate;

determining using the sensor data and the door geometry, for each of the doors;

whether the door would be expected to contact one or more of the objects if the door were to be opened to the fully open position, based on the object distances and the fully open distance; and

whether the door would be expected to contact one or more of the objects if the door were to be opened to the one or more partially open positions, based on the object distances and the one or more partially open distances;

determining whether one or more display conditions are satisfied; and

when the one or more display conditions are satisfied, providing instructions for the display system to provide a display depicting an opening of the door at each of the fully open position and the one or more partially open positions, wherein for each door, the depicting of the opening of the door comprises, for each particular position of the door;

depicting the opening of the door to the particular position in a first manner indicating that the door is unlikely to contact an object when opened to the particular position, when the door is not expected to contact one or more of the objects when opened to the particular position; and

depicting the opening of the door to the particular position in a second manner, different from the first manner, indicating that the door is likely to contact an object when opened to the particular position, when the door is expected to contact one or more of the objects when opened to the particular position.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the display system is configured to at least facilitate depicting, based on the instructions provided by the processor, for each door:

an opening of the door at each of the fully open position and the one or more partially open positions, in color for each position, namely, for each particular position, namely;

in a first color when the door is expected not to contact one or more of the objects when opened to the particular position; and

in a second color, different from the first color, when the door is expected to contact one or more of the objects when opened to the particular position.

12. The system of claim 9, further comprising:

a plurality of cameras disposed at different respective locations on the vehicle, the plurality of cameras configured to generate camera data for the vehicle;

wherein the processor is configured to at least facilitate;

generating a top-down view of the vehicle using the camera data; and

generating instructions for the display system to provide a display using the top-down view of the vehicle in combination with the opening of the one or more doors.

27. The system of claim 9, wherein, when the one or more display conditions are satisfied, the processor is configured to provide instructions for the display system to provide a display comprising, for each particular position for each door, a different respective line segment corresponding to the particular position of the door, wherein the respective line segment for each particular position of the door is depicted:

in a first manner indicating that the door is unlikely to contact an object when opened to the particular position, when the door is not expected to contact one or more of the objects when opened to the particular position; and

in a second manner, different from the first manner, indicating that the door is likely to contact an object when opened to the particular position, when the door is expected to contact one or more of the objects when opened to the particular position.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the processor is configured to provide instructions for the display system to provide the display such that:

the fully open position is represented with a first line segment; and

the one or more partially open positions are each represented with a respective second line segment, wherein each of the respective second line segments are shorter than the first line segment.

29. The system of claim 27, wherein the processor is configured to provide instructions for the display system to provide the display such that:

the respective line segment for the particular position of the door is depicted in a first color if the door is not expected to contact the object when opened to the particular position; and

the respective line segment for the particular position of the door is depicted in a second color, different from the first color, if the door is expected to contact the object when opened to the particular position.

10. (canceled)

13-15. -15. (canceled)

16. A vehicle comprising:

one or more doors;

one or more sensors configured to generate sensor data pertaining to one or more objects in proximity to the vehicle, wherein the sensor data comprises sensor data including object distances between the one or more doors and the one or more objects in proximity to the vehicle;

a memory configured to store a door geometry for the one or more doors, wherein the geometry includes, for each door, multiple opening distances for the door, the multiple opening distances comprising;

a fully open distance for fully opening the door to a fully open position; and

one or more partially open distances, for partially opening the door to one or more partially open positions, wherein each of the one or more partially open conditions comprises a detent position, which the door is likely to detent to and stay at when opened, and which represents the door being partially opened between a closed position and a fully open position; and

a processor coupled to the one or more sensors and to the memory, the processor configured to at least facilitate;

determining, using the sensor data and the door geometry, for each of the doors;

whether the door would be expected to contact one or more of the objects if the door were to be opened to the fully open position, based on the object distances and the fully open distance; and

whether the door would be expected to contact one or more of the objects if the door were to be opened to the one or more partially open detent positions, based on the object distances and the one or more partially opening distances;

determining whether one or more display conditions are satisfied; and

when the one or more display conditions are satisfied, providing instructions for the display system to provide a display depicting an opening of the door at each of the fully open position and the one or more partially open positions, wherein for each door, the depicting of the opening of the door comprises, for each particular position of the door;

depicting the opening of the door to the particular position in a first manner indicating that the door is unlikely to contact an object when opened to the particular position, when the door is not expected to contact one or more of the objects when opened to the particular position; and

depicting the opening of the door to the particular position in a second manner, different from the first manner, indicating that the door is likely to contact an object when opened to the particular position, when the door is expected to contact one or more of the objects when opened to the particular position.

18. The vehicle of claim 16,

wherein the processor is configured to at least facilitate:

when the one or more display conditions are satisfied, providing instructions for the display system to provide a display depicting an opening of the door at each of the fully open position and the one or more partially open positions, wherein for each door, the depicting of the opening of the door comprises, for each particular position of the door;

depicting the opening of the door to the particular position in a first color indicating that the door is unlikely to contact an object when opened to the particular position, when the door is not expected to contact one or more of the objects when opened to the particular position; and

depicting the opening of the door to the particular position in a second color, different from the first color, indicating that the door is likely to contact an object when opened to the particular position, when the door is expected to contact one or more of the objects when opened to the particular position.

30. The vehicle of claim 16, wherein, when the one or more display conditions are satisfied, the processor is configured to provide instructions for the display system to provide a display comprising, for each particular position for each door, a different respective line segment corresponding to the particular position of the door, wherein the respective line segment for each particular position of the door is depicted:

in a first manner indicating that the door is unlikely to contact an object when opened to the particular position, when the door is not expected to contact one or more of the objects when opened to the particular position; and

in a second manner, different from the first manner, indicating that the door is likely to contact an object when opened to the particular position, when the door is expected to contact one or more of the objects when opened to the particular position.

31. The vehicle of claim 30, wherein the processor is configured to provide instructions for the display system to provide the display such that:

the fully open position is represented with a first line segment; and

the one or more partially open positions are each represented with a respective second line segment, wherein each of the respective second line segments are shorter than the first line segment.

32. The vehicle of claim 30, wherein the processor is configured to provide instructions for the display system to provide the display such that:

the respective line segment for the particular position of the door is depicted in a first color if the door is not expected to contact the object when opened to the particular position; and

the respective line segment for the particular position of the door is depicted in a second color, different from the first color, if the door is expected to contact the object when opened to the particular position.

17. (canceled)

19-20. -20. (canceled)