Driver Assistance System

• US 20080033614A1
• Filed: 10/19/2007
• Published: 02/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Original Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Inventors: Ayoubi, Mihiar, Schiehlen, Joachim, Hohmann, Soeren, Felten, Jan
• Granted Patent: US 9,051,008 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/41
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2201/08 Lane monitoring; Lane Keeping Systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2201/087 using active steering actuation
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/08 Active safety systems predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision or attempting to minimise its consequences
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/02 related to ambient conditions
• 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 15/029 Steering assistants using warnings or proposing actions to the driver without influencing the steering system

Abstract

A driving aid system is provided for assisting a motor vehicle during a change of lane. The system includes a device monitoring the lateral side space and a device monitoring the directional stability. The lateral space monitoring device is designed to determine the degree of risk (for example, two levels: dangerous/not dangerous, or three levels: low/medium/high risk) represented by a change of lane. At the high risk level, a first driving aid reaction occurs, at least in the form of a counter-steering, which is regulated by a link existing between the lateral space monitoring device and the directional stability monitoring device and is expressed by a reorientation towards the specific traffic lane or by maintaining the directional stability. At the low risk level, a second driving-aid reaction is triggered, which is less perceptible and depends on the degree of likelihood of the intention to change lane.

Claims

1. A driver assistance system for assisting a driver of a motor vehicle during a change of lane, the driver assistance system comprising:

a side area monitoring device that determines a degree of danger for a lane change;

a lane directional stability monitoring device operatively coupled with the side area monitoring device; and

wherein in an event of a high degree of danger determined by the side area monitoring device, independently of a degree of probability concerning a deliberateness of leaving the lane, a first driver-aid reaction is triggered at least in a form of a counter-steering, which is controlled via the coupling between the side area monitoring device and the lane directional stability monitoring device in order to steer the vehicle back into the defined traffic lane or to maintain the directional stability within the defined traffic lane.

2. The driver assistance system according to claim 1, wherein the side area monitoring device determines the degree of probability of the deliberateness of leaving the lane and, in an event of a low degree of danger, triggers a second driver-aid reaction as a function of the determined degree of probability of the deliberateness of leaving the lane.

3. The driver assistance system according to claim 2, wherein, with a decreasing degree of probability of the deliberateness of leaving the lane, the second driver-aid reaction is triggered so as to be more noticeable to the driver.

4. The driver assistance system according to claim 3, wherein the first driver-aid reaction is more noticeable to the driver than any of the second driver-aid reactions.

5. The driver assistance system according to claim 3, wherein when the system determines there is a high degree of probability of the deliberateness of leaving the lane, no driver-aid reaction is triggered.

6. The driver assistance system according to claim 2, wherein the degree of probability of the deliberateness of leaving the lane is determined to be high when a turn signal of the vehicle is on.

7. The driver assistance system according to claim 3, wherein the degree of probability of the deliberateness of leaving the lane is determined to be high when a turn signal of the vehicle is on.

8. The driver assistance system according to claim 2, wherein the system determines the degree of probability of the deliberateness of leaving the lane to be high based upon at least one of the following events:

a vehicle speed at which the defined lane is left being higher than a defined threshold; and

an acceleration of the vehicle.

9. The driver assistance system according to claim 3, wherein the system determines the degree of probability of the deliberateness of leaving the lane to be high based upon at least one of the following events:

a vehicle speed at which the defined lane is left being higher than a defined threshold; and

an acceleration of the vehicle.

10. The driver assistance system according to claim 6, wherein the system determines the degree of probability of the deliberateness of leaving the lane to be high based upon at least one of the following events:

a vehicle speed at which the defined lane is left being higher than a defined threshold; and

an acceleration of the vehicle.

11. The driver assistance system according to claim 2, wherein the system determines the degree of probability of the deliberateness of leaving the lane to be high when a distance from a preceding vehicle is decreasing.

12. The driver assistance system according to claim 3, wherein the system determines the degree of probability of the deliberateness of leaving the lane to be high when a distance from a preceding vehicle is decreasing.

13. The driver assistance system according to claim 10, wherein the system determines the degree of probability of the deliberateness of leaving the lane to be high when a distance from a preceding vehicle is decreasing.

14. A method for assisting a driver of a motor vehicle during a lane departure, the method comprising the acts of:

determining a degree of danger for a lane departure via a side area monitoring device of the vehicle;

determining a probability degree with respect to a deliberateness of the driver in departing the lane;

upon determining a high degree of danger, triggering a first driver-aid reaction at least in a form of a counter-steering of the vehicle for steering the vehicle back into the lane, wherein the triggering is controlled by a coupling between the side area monitoring device and a lane directional stability monitoring device; and

upon determining a low degree of danger, triggering a second driver-aid reaction as a function of the probability degree of the deliberateness of leaving the lane.

15. The method according claim 14, wherein the second driver-aid reaction is increasingly noticeable to the driver with a decreasing degree of probability of the deliberateness of leaving the lane.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein at a high degree of probability of the deliberateness of leaving the lane, no second driver-aid reaction is triggered.

17. The method according to claim 15, further comprising the act of determining whether a turn signal of the vehicle is on;

and

determining that the probability degree of the deliberateness of leaving the lane is high when the turn signal is determined to be on.

18. The method according to claim 15, further comprising the acts of:

determining a vehicle speed at which the defined lane is being left;

determining whether the vehicle is being accelerated as the defined lane is left; and

determining the probability degree of the deliberateness of leaving the lane to be high when at least one of the determined speed is greater than a defined threshold and the vehicle is being accelerated.

19. The method according to claim 15, further comprising the act of calculating a distance from the vehicle to the preceding vehicle ahead;

and

determining the probability degree of the deliberateness of leaving the lane to be high when the calculated distance is decreasing.