Method and system for assisting a driver when parking or maneuvering a motor vehicle

• US 8,180,525 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2006
• Issued: 05/15/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Continental Teves AG & Co. OHG (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Continental Teves AG & Co. OHG (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Lüke, Stefan, Köbe, Andreas, Griesser, Martin, Irth, Markus, Fischer, Daniel, Schreiner, Frank, Sussmann, Christian
• Primary Examiner(s): Dickson, Paul N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Coker, Robert A
• Application Number:
  US12/158,418
• Publication Number:
  US 20090125181A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,974 Days
• Field of Search: 180/199, 280/761, 340/932.2, 701/36, 701/25, 701/93
• US Class Current: 701/36
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/061 by monitoring wheel speed measuring distance traversed on the ground by vehicles G01C22/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/062 Frequency spectrum analysis of wheel speed signals, e.g. using Fourier transformation
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2201/10 Automatic or semi-automatic parking aid systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2240/07 Tire tolerance compensation
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/027 Parking aids, e.g. instruction means

Abstract

A method for assisting a driver when parking or maneuvering a motor vehicle having at least one driver assistance system and a vehicle safety system is provided. The method includes the steps of detecting the surroundings and calculating a desired path in a calculation model, in which the differences in traveling distance between the individual wheels are monitored and determined by means of the vehicle safety system. The desired path is predicted in a calculation model by means of the differences in traveling distance, and detection of the surroundings is carried out by means of the driver assistance system. Furthermore, a system which is suitable to implement the method is provided.

Claims

1. A method for assisting a driver when parking or maneuvering a motor vehicle, which has at least one driver assistance system and a vehicle safety system, comprising the following steps:

a) detecting the surroundings; and

b) calculating a desired path in a calculation model, wherein differences in traveling distance between individual wheels of the motor vehicle are monitored and determined by means of the vehicle safety system, and wherein the desired path is predicted in the calculation model by means of the differences in traveling distance and detection of the surroundings is carried out by means of the driver assistance system.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1,

wherein, as a traveling distance of a wheel, a respective wheel rolling circumference (U_i) of at least one wheel is determined by means of at least one vehicle safety system, and the determined wheel rolling circumferences (U_i) of the individual wheels are evaluated to find out the differences in the wheel rolling circumferences.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2,

wherein the differences in the wheel rolling circumferences between the individual wheels are monitored by means of the vehicle safety system including at least one of an indirect tire pressure monitoring system, an anti-lock braking system (ABS), and an electronic stability program (ESP) system.

4. The method as claimed in claim 2,

wherein a wheel rolling circumference (U₁) of a right front wheel of the motor vehicle is related to a wheel rolling circumference (U₂) of a left front wheel of the motor vehicle, and

a wheel rolling circumference (U₃) of a left rear wheel of the motor vehicle is related to a wheel rolling circumference (U₄) of a right rear wheel of the motor vehicle in order to determine the differences in the wheel rolling circumferences.

5. The method as claimed in claim 2,

wherein a wheel rolling circumference (U₁) of a right front wheel of the motor vehicle is related to a wheel rolling circumference (U₃) of a right rear wheel of the motor vehicle compared to the wheel rolling circumference (U₂) of the left front wheel being related to the wheel rolling circumference (U₄) of the right rear wheel in order to determine the differences in the wheel rolling circumferences.

6. The method as claimed in claim 2,

wherein the wheel rolling circumferences (U_i) are determined during one or more special driving maneuvers.

7. The method as claimed in claim 2,

wherein the wheel rolling circumferences (U_i) are determined during one or more parking maneuvers of the motor vehicle or one or more ranging maneuvers of the motor vehicle.

8. The method as claimed in claim 2,

wherein the wheel rolling circumferences (U_i) are determined during straight travel of the motor vehicle in forward or backward directions.

9. The method as claimed in claim 2,

wherein the wheel rolling circumferences (U_i) are determined as a parameter of a calculation model,

wherein the calculation model accounts for straight travel movements of the vehicle in forward or backward directions to a stronger degree than driving movements defined by a steering angle that is unequal to approximately zero degrees.

10. The method as claimed in claim 2,

wherein either the wheel rolling circumferences (U_i), or the wheel rolling circumference differences between the wheels are determined upon initiation by a driver of the motor vehicle.

11. The method as claimed in claim 10,

wherein initiation occurs upon activating a reset key, or detection of a change at the tires or wheels.

12. The method as claimed in claim 1,

wherein a division error of an encoder of a wheel rotational speed sensor is determined and taken into consideration for a correction of a wheel rotational speed signal (□

_i).

13. A system for implementing the method of claim 1 comprising at least one driver assistance system and at least one vehicle safety system,

wherein the driver assistance system is an adaptive cruise control (ACC) system;

a tire pressure monitoring system and an anti-lock braking system (ABS) are used as vehicle safety systems along with the ACC system; and

the tire pressure monitoring system and the ABS system are configured to interact by way of wired or wireless data lines to output status information to a driver interface of the motor vehicle.

14. A system for assisting a driver when parking or maneuvering a motor vehicle along a desired path, said system comprising:

a driver interface;

a driver assistance system including an adaptive cruise control (ACC) system configured for detecting surroundings of the motor vehicle; and

a vehicle safety system including a tire pressure monitoring system operatively coupled to an anti-lock braking system (ABS) by wired or wireless data lines, wherein the vehicle safety system is configured to determine differences in traveling distance between individual wheels of the motor vehicle along the desired path of the motor vehicle;

wherein the vehicle safety system is configured to output status information to the driver interface of the motor vehicle, and the vehicle safety system is configured to predict a desired path by means of the differences in traveling distance between individual wheels of the motor vehicle.