Method and device for influencing at least one parameter on a vehilcle

• US 20040006427A1
• Filed: 07/30/2003
• Published: 01/08/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Stiller, Christoph
• Granted Patent: US 7,765,065 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/300
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01311 monitoring the braking system, e.g. ABS
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01313 monitoring the vehicle steering system or the dynamic control system
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01315 monitoring occupant displacement
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/0134 responsive to imminent contact with an obstacle , e.g. using radar systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01512 Passenger detection systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01538 for image processing, e.g. cameras or sensor arrays
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/143 Alarm means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/00 Input parameters relating to objects
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/20 Static objects
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/4029 Pedestrians
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/80 Spatial relation or speed relative to objects
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/09 Taking automatic action to avoid collision, e.g. braking and steering
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/20 Analysis of motion motion estimation for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals H04N19/43, H04N19/51
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/593 from stereo images
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/165 for passive traffic, e.g. including static obstacles, trees
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes

Abstract

Method and device for manipulating at least one parameter of a vehicle and used to improve active and passive occupant safety in a simple manner, the vicinity of a vehicle being monitored for the occurrence of at least one relevant event; a vehicle interior being monitored for the actual position of at least one person (vehicle occupant); signals corresponding to the event or the actual position being supplied to an evaluation unit (22) upon the occurrence of the at least one relevant event and/or on detecting the actual position; and the evaluation unit (22) activating at least one active and/or passive safety system of the vehicle (10) as a function of the at least one detected relevant event and the detected actual position of the at least one person.

Claims

1. A method of manipulating at least one parameter of a vehicle, wherein the vicinity of a vehicle is monitored for the occurrence of at least one relevant event;

a vehicle interior is monitored for the actual position of at least one person (vehicle occupant);

signals corresponding to the event or the actual position are supplied to an evaluation unit (22) upon the occurrence of the at least one relevant event and on detecting the actual position; and

the evaluation unit (22) activates at least one active and/or passive safety system of the vehicle (10) as a function of the at least one detected relevant event and the detected actual position of the at least one person.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the detection of a vehicle, a person and/or an object in the vicinity of the vehicle is monitored as the relevant event.

3. The method as recited in one of the preceding claims, wherein the evaluation unit (22) controls components of monitoring systems (12, 20) to detect the relevant events and the actual position.

4. The method as recited in one of the preceding claims, wherein the evaluation unit (22) combines the signals corresponding to the relevant events and the actual positions.

5. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein additional vehicles located in the vicinity of the vehicle are taken into account in addition to the vehicle status.

6. The method as recited in one of the preceding claims, wherein the kinematics of vehicles, people, and/or objects detected in the vicinity of the vehicle and the kinematics of vehicle occupants are predicted.

7. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the kinematics are evaluated with a view to the present actual safety situation.

8. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein a time-to-contact is used as the evaluation criterion.

9. The method as recited in one of the preceding claims, wherein the vehicle parameter that is manipulated to optimize vehicle occupant safety is determined when the actual safety situation drops below a selectable threshold value for the purpose of executing a physical driving maneuver of the vehicle.

10. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein a brake and/or a steering system and/or an acceleration and/or an air bag and/or a seatbelt tightener is manipulated as the vehicle parameter.

11. The method as recited in one of the preceding claims, wherein the trajectory of vehicles, people, and/or objects in the vicinity of the vehicle, the trajectory of the local vehicle (the vehicle itself) and the trajectory of vehicle occupants are predicted for the determined physical driving maneuver.

12. The method as recited in one of the preceding claims, wherein the driving maneuver in which minimum injury to the vehicle occupants is expected is selected from the determined physical driving maneuvers and executed.

13. The method as recited in one of the preceding claims, wherein the trajectory of the executed driving maneuver is taken into account when evaluating the actual current safety situation.

14. The method as recited in one of the preceding claims, wherein an emergency call and/or a passenger warning system are activated upon execution of the driving maneuver.

18. The device as recited in one of the preceding claims, wherein at least individual components of the units (12 and 20), as well as the evaluation unit (22), are integrated to form an assembly.

19. The device as recited in one of the preceding claims, wherein the evaluation unit (22) is connected to actuators (24, 26) for activating or influencing active and passive safety systems of the vehicle (10).

15. A device for manipulating at least one parameter of a vehicle (10), comprising at least one unit (12) for monitoring the vicinity of a vehicle, at least one unit (20) for monitoring a vehicle interior, an evaluation unit (22) for evaluating signals supplied by the monitoring units (14, 16, 18) and corresponding to the occurrence of a relevant event in the vicinity of the vehicle and the actual position of at least one person inside the vehicle, the evaluation unit (22) having means for the coordinated control of at least one active and/or passive safety system as a function of the monitoring signals.

16. The device as recited in claim 15, wherein the unit (12) includes a long-range radar sensor (14) and/or a short-range radar sensor (16) and/or an image detection unit (18), in particular, a stereo video sensor.

17. The device as recited in claim 15, wherein the unit (20) includes an image detection unit (18), in particular, a stereo video sensor.