Method for avoiding a collision of a vehicle with an object

Abstract

A method for operating a driver assistance system (DAS) to avoid a collision of a vehicle with an object At least one object in the vehicle environment is detected by vehicle-mounted environmental sensors, and is evaluated in terms of risk of collision with the vehicle, an an automatic intervention into the vehicle movement is carried out depending on this evaluation. During the automatic intervention, the following steps are performed: 1) Carrying out an automatic braking of the vehicle depending on the evaluation of collision risk, and 2) permitting a steering intervention by the driver to perform an evasive steering maneuver, in reaction to which the automatic braking is terminated. The driver-initiated steering intervention must occur before a point-in-time at which the DAS has determined the collision cannot be avoided by steering.

Claims

1. A method for operating a driver assistance system of a vehicle to avoid a collision, comprising: operating a sensor to detect an object; determining that a risk of collision with the object exceeds a threshold; beginning automatic braking; monitoring control inputs by the driver; and in reaction to a steering intervention by the driver to execute an evasive steering maneuver, terminating the automatic braking and making a steering input assisting the evasive steering maneuver.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: terminating the automatic braking only if the steering intervention is made prior to a point-in-time at which collision with the object is determined by the driver assistance system to be unavoidable by the evasive steering maneuver.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the steering input is based at least in part on a collision avoidance trajectory calculated by the driver assistance system.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising terminating the steering input in response to the driver making a further steering and/or braking intervention that conflicts with the collision avoidance trajectory.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the steering input is based at least in part on a level of the collision risk.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the steering input is based at least in part on a vehicle velocity.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising further assisting the evasive steering maneuver by making a braking input.

8. A method for operating a driver assistance system of a vehicle to avoid a collision, comprising: operating a sensor to detect an object in a vehicle environment; determining that a risk of collision with the object exceeds a threshold; beginning automatic braking to slow the vehicle; monitoring control inputs by the driver; and upon detection of a driver steering intervention to execute an evasive steering maneuver prior to a point at which collision with the object is unavoidable by steering, terminating the automatic braking and making a steering input assisting the evasive steering maneuver.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the steering input is based at least in part on a collision avoidance trajectory calculated by the driver assistance system.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising terminating the steering input in response to the driver making a further steering and/or braking intervention that conflicts with the collision avoidance trajectory.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the steering input is based at least in part on a level of the collision risk.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the steering input is based at least in part on a vehicle velocity.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising further assisting the evasive steering maneuver by making a braking input.

14. A method for operating a driver assistance system of a vehicle to avoid a collision with an object detected by sensors, comprising: braking the vehicle in response to a risk of collision with the object reaching a threshold; terminating braking in response to detection of a steering intervention by the driver to avoid colliding with the object; and applying a steering input assisting the steering intervention.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising: terminating braking only if the steering intervention is made prior to a point-in-time at which collision with the object is determined by the driver assistance system to be unavoidable by an evasive steering maneuver.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the steering input is based at least in part on a collision avoidance trajectory calculated by the driver assistance system.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising terminating the steering input in response to the driver making a further steering and/or braking intervention that conflicts with the collision avoidance trajectory.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the steering input is based at least in part on a level of the collision risk.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the steering input is based at least in part on a vehicle velocity.

20. The method of claim 14, further comprising further assisting the steering intervention by making a braking input.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 shows a flow chart depicting a typical mode of operation of an embodiment of the disclosed driver assistance system and/or a sequence of an embodiment of the disclosed method.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(2) As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention.

(3) According to FIG. 1, in the step S10, the driver assistance system (DAS) according to the invention continuously monitors various aspects of the vehicle and its environment, including objects located in the vehicle environment, the driver actions, and the vehicle state on the basis of sensor data available from known types of vehicle sensors (S5). The objects in the vehicle environment are classified in terms of the path of the vehicle. If an object is detected in the path of the vehicle, the collision probability is evaluated. The time to collision (TTC) is calculated, and weighting factors in terms of the collision probability are determined for the system activations (step S20).

(4) If the collision probability exceeds a predetermined threshold value (step S30), the system automatically activates the brakes in step S50 in order to reduce the velocity of the vehicle, change the weight distribution of the vehicle, and increase the vehicle agility or maneuverability in the event that the driver wants to carry out an evasive steering maneuver.

(5) In addition to the automatic brake activation in step S50, a suitable motion path or collision avoidance trajectory for an evasive maneuver of the vehicle may be calculated (step S40). In addition, the driver reaction is monitored (step S80) using onboard sensors which monitor the driver's control inputs, such as steering and/or braking. Upon or during automatic braking, if a steering intervention is carried out by the driver (for example, by way of the driver aggressively steering, e.g., by more than a predefined angle or by more than a predefined angle per second, (step S60), the DAS terminates the braking intervention (step S70) and begins providing steering inputs to guide or assist the driver through the evasive steering maneuver. This steering assistance may be provided by way of a steering torque being applied to the steering wheel, which torque is calculated on the basis of the optimal motion path or trajectory (step S100). In the case of different possible settings of the actuators, the evasive maneuver can also be supported by the brakes, in which case the act of following the motion path or the trajectory is supported while the maneuver is carried out.

(6) If the driver disables the evasive maneuver (step S90) by means of a steering- and/or braking intervention upon or during the execution of an evasive steering maneuver, the automatic DAS support/assistance for the evasive maneuver is shut off and terminated (step S120). The automatic DAS support for the evasive maneuver is also shut off if the end of the maneuver has been reached after step S100.

(7) Automatic braking and driver-initiated collision avoidance by means of steering intervention can be carried out in succession only until the last point-in-time for a successful steering intervention has been reached. As soon as this point-in-time has been reached or exceeded, the automatic braking is continued (as having not been terminated), in which case the driver is no longer capable of carrying out a steering intervention for an evasive maneuver.

(8) The present disclosure includes the concept of automatic braking of the vehicle being activated by the DAS when a predetermined threshold value for the collision risk has been exceeded, wherein the corresponding braking intervention can include full braking or even partial braking. Moreover, a manual steering intervention can be carried out by the driver and an evasive steering maneuver can be carried out if the automatic brake intervention has already been activated.

(9) In embodiments, the driver can disable or work with the DAS when, e.g., the driver decides that he does not want to follow the motion path or trajectory. At the end of the maneuver or when a disabling by the driver is detected, the driver support provided by the DAS is gradually or gently shut off.

(10) While exemplary embodiments are described above, it is not intended that these embodiments describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, the features of various implementing embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments of the invention.