Emergency brake assistant for automatically decelerating a vehicle to prevent a collision or reduce the consequences of a collision

• US 8,489,318 B2
• Filed: 07/13/2012
• Issued: 07/16/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BMW AG (Bayerische Motoren Werke AG)
• Original Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Inventors: Zahn, Peter, Reinisch, Philipp
• Primary Examiner(s): FREJD, RUSSELL WARREN
• Application Number:
  US13/549,151
• Publication Number:
  US 20120283927A1
• Time in Patent Office: 368 Days
• Field of Search: 701/36, 701/70, 701/93, 701/96, 701/97, 701/116, 701/301
• US Class Current: 701/301
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2201/022 Collision avoidance systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2201/024 Collision mitigation systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 7/22 initiated by contact of vehicle, e.g. bumper, with an external object, e.g. another vehicle , or by means of contactless obstacle detectors mounted on the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/17558 specially adapted for collision avoidance or collision mitigation road vehicle drive control systems for collision avoidance otherwise than by controlling a particular sub-unit B60W30/09

Abstract

The invention relates to an emergency brake assistant for automatically decelerating a vehicle to prevent a collision or reduce the consequences of a collision with a detected collision object, at a determined intervention point in time, a brake system of the vehicle being automatically activated such that a collision with the detected collision object can be prevented or at least the consequences of the collision can be reduced. The invention is characterized in that the intervention point in time can be determined as a function of the end point in time of a determined driver reaction time and of the determined last-possible braking point in time.

Claims

1. An emergency brake assistant for automatically decelerating a vehicle to prevent a collision or reduce the consequences of a collision with a detected collision object, at a determined intervention point in time, wherein a brake system of the vehicle is automatically activated such that a collision with the detected collision object can be prevented or consequences of the collision can be reduced, wherein the intervention point in time is determined as a function of a determined end point in time of a driver reaction time and of a determined last-possible braking point in time and of a determined last-possible evading point in time,

wherein the determined intervention point in time is determined such that, at the determined end point in time of the driver reaction time, which occurs before the determined last-possible braking point in time, the last possible braking point in time is defined as a preliminary intervention point in time, or that, at the determined end point in time of the driver reaction time, which occurs before the determined last-possible evading point in time and after the determined last-possible braking point in time, the last-possible braking point in time or the determined end point in time of the driver reaction time is defined as the preliminary intervention point in time, or that, at the determined last-possible evading point in time, which occurs after the determined last-possible braking point in time and before the determined end point in time of the driver reaction time, the last possible braking point in time is defined as the preliminary intervention point in time.

2. The emergency brake assistant according to claim 1, wherein at the determined end point in time of the driver reaction time, which occurs before the determined last-possible evading point in time and after the determined last-possible braking point in time, the last-possible braking point in time is defined as the preliminary intervention point in time if an evading maneuver is not feasible, and the determined end point in time of the driver reaction time is defined as the preliminary intervention point in time, if an evading maneuver is feasible.

3. The emergency brake assistant according to claim 1, wherein the intervention point in time can only be determined in such a manner if the last-possible evading point in time, with respect to time, is after the last-possible braking point in time.

4. The emergency brake assistant according to claim 2, wherein the intervention point in time can only be determined in such a manner if the last-possible evading point in time, with respect to time, is after the last-possible braking point in time.

5. The emergency brake assistant according to claim 1, wherein when determining the intervention point in time, the driver reaction, during at least one of the determined driver reaction time and after the end point in time of the determined driver reaction time, can be taken into account.

6. The emergency brake assistant according to claim 2, wherein when determining the intervention point in time, the driver reaction, during at least one of the determined driver reaction time and after the end point in time of the determined driver reaction time, can be taken into account.

7. The emergency brake assistant according to claim 1, wherein the intervention point in time can be determined such that the determined last-possible evading point in time is defined as the intervention point in time when an evading operation to be carried out by the driver is recognized or assumed and a feasibility of the evading maneuver is recognized.

8. The emergency brake assistant according to claim 2, wherein the intervention point in time can be determined such that the determined preliminary intervention point in time is defined as the intervention point in time when an evading operation to be carried out by the driver is not recognized or not assumed.

9. The emergency brake assistant according to claim 1, the driver reaction time can be determined as a function of the occurrence of the collision object and/or of the number of the conceivable action alternatives when a collision object is detected.

10. A method for automatically decelerating a vehicle comprising:

determining an intervention point in time based on a determined end point in time of a driver reaction time, a determined last-possible braking point in time, and a determined last-possible evading point in time; and

activating, automatically, a brake system of the vehicle at the determined intervention point in time such that a collision with a detected collision object is prevented or consequences of the collision reduced,

wherein the determined intervention point in time is determined such that, at the determined end point in time of the driver reaction time, which occurs before the determined last-possible braking point in time, the last possible braking point in time is defined as a preliminary intervention point in time, or that, at the determined end point in time of the driver reaction time, which occurs before the determined last-possible evading point in time and after the determined last-possible braking point in time, the last-possible braking point in time or the determined end point in time of the driver reaction time is defined as the preliminary intervention point in time, or that, at the determined last-possible evading point in time, which occurs after the determined last-possible braking point in time and before the determined end point in time of the driver reaction time, the last possible braking point in time is defined as the preliminary intervention point in time.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the intervention point in time can be determined such that the determined last-possible evading point in time is defined as the intervention point in time when an evading operation to be carried out by the driver is recognized or assumed and a feasibility of the evading maneuver is recognized.

12. The method according to claim 10, the driver reaction time can be determined as a function of the occurrence of the collision object and/or of the number of the conceivable action alternatives when a collision object is detected.

13. The method according to claim 10, wherein at the determined end point in time of the driver reaction time, which occurs before the determined last-possible evading point in time and after the determined last-possible braking point in time, the last-possible braking point in time is defined as the preliminary intervention point in time if an evading maneuver is not feasible, and the determined end point in time of the driver reaction time is defined as the preliminary intervention point in time, if an evading maneuver is feasible.

14. The method according to claim 10, wherein the intervention point in time can only be determined in such a manner if the last-possible evading point in time, with respect to time, is after the last-possible braking point in time.

15. The method according to claim 10, wherein when determining the intervention point in time, the driver reaction, during at least one of the determined driver reaction time and after the end point in time of the determined driver reaction time, can be taken into account.

16. The method according to claim 10, wherein the intervention point in time can be determined such that the determined preliminary intervention point in time is defined as the intervention point in time when an evading operation to be carried out by the driver is not recognized or not assumed.