Method and device for assisting a driver of a vehicle in a bottleneck

• US 9,428,219 B2
• Filed: 07/03/2014
• Issued: 08/30/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/05/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Flehmig, Folko, Ma, Yuefeng
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Cuong H
• Application Number:
  US14/323,230
• Publication Number:
  US 20150012182A1
• Time in Patent Office: 789 Days
• Field of Search: 701/36, 701 41- 42, 701/301, 180/41, 180/443, 180/446, 180/422
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/025 Active steering aids, e.g. helping the driver by actively influencing the steering system after environment evaluation B62D1/28 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/0265 Automatic obstacle avoidance by steering
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 6/002 computing target steering angles for front or rear wheels B62D7/159 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 7/159 characterised by computing methods or stabilisation processes or systems, e.g. responding to yaw rate, lateral wind, load, road condition
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/021 specially adapted to land vehicles

Abstract

A method for assisting a vehicle driver in a bottleneck, including the tasks of reading in, evaluating, and providing. In the reading in, a piece of information about a negotiable corridor in the bottleneck, a piece of information about an instantaneous trajectory of the vehicle in the bottleneck, and a piece of information about a steering torque which is presently applied by the driver to a steering of the vehicle are read in. In the evaluating, the pieces of information about the corridor, the trajectory, and the steering torque are evaluated by using known dimensions of the vehicle to recognize an anticipated violation of the corridor by at least one part of the vehicle. In the providing, a control signal is provided for a counter torque which acts against the steering torque when the violation is recognized to assist the driver with avoiding the violation.

Claims

1. A method for assisting a driver of a vehicle in a bottleneck, the method comprising:

reading in, via an interface, a piece of information, from a surroundings detection/monitoring device of the vehicle, about a negotiable corridor in the bottleneck, an instantaneous trajectory, from the surroundings detection/monitoring device or a navigation system of vehicle, of the vehicle in the bottleneck, and a steering torque which is presently applied by the driver to a steering of the vehicle;

evaluating, via a processor device of an assisting control system, the piece of information about the corridor, the trajectory, and the steering torque by using known dimensions of the vehicle to recognize an anticipated violation of the corridor by at least one part of the vehicle; and

providing, via the processor device of the assisting control system, a control signal for a counter torque which acts against the steering torque when the violation is recognized to assist the driver with avoiding the violation.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein in the evaluating, a future trajectory of the vehicle is determined by using the instantaneous trajectory, the steering torque, and the dimensions of the vehicle, and the future trajectory is compared to the corridor to recognize the violation.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

ascertaining at least one of a variable and a direction of the counter torque by using the corridor and the future trajectory, wherein in the providing, the control signal is provided by using the at least one of the variable and the direction.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting the piece of information about the corridor by using sensor data of at least one sensor of the vehicle, at least one minimum width of the bottleneck and/or a course of the bottleneck being detected in the sensor data to obtain the piece of information.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein in the detecting, it is differentiated between static objects and dynamic objects in the area of the bottleneck, a smaller safety distance being maintained from the static objects than from the dynamic objects for defining the corridor.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein in the providing, the counter torque is gradually reduced via the control signal if a correction torque of the driver is read in which is sufficient for avoiding the violation.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein in the providing, the counter torque is limited to a predefined maximum value via the control signal.

8. A device for assisting a driver of a vehicle in a bottleneck, comprising:

an assisting control system, including;

an interface to read in a piece of information from a surroundings detection/monitoring device of the vehicle about a negotiable corridor in the bottleneck, an instantaneous trajectory, from the surroundings detection/monitoring device or a navigation system of vehicle, of the vehicle in the bottleneck, and a steering torque which is presently applied by the driver to a steering of the vehicle;

an evaluating device to evaluate the piece of information, from the surroundings monitoring device of the vehicle, about the corridor, the trajectory, and the steering torque by using known dimensions of the vehicle to recognize an anticipated violation of the corridor by at least one part of the vehicle; and

a device for providing a control signal for a counter torque which acts against the steering torque when the violation is recognized to assist the driver with avoiding the violation.

9. A computer readable medium having a computer program, which is executable by a processor, comprising:

a program code arrangement having program code for assisting a driver of a vehicle in a bottleneck, by performing the following;

reading in, via an interface, a piece of information, from a surroundings detection/monitoring device of the vehicle, about a negotiable corridor in the bottleneck, an instantaneous trajectory, from the surroundings detection/monitoring device or a navigation system of vehicle, of the vehicle in the bottleneck, and a steering torque which is presently applied by the driver to a steering of the vehicle;

evaluating, via a processor device of an assisting control system, the piece of information about the corridor, the trajectory, and the steering torque by using known dimensions of the vehicle to recognize an anticipated violation of the corridor by at least one part of the vehicle; and

providing, via the processor device of the assisting control system, a control signal for a counter torque which acts against the steering torque when the violation is recognized to assist the driver with avoiding the violation.