Method and device for swerve assistance for a motor vehicle

Abstract

A method for providing swerve assistance for a motor vehicle, in which a threatening or imminent collision of the motor vehicle is detected, the driver is notified to steer the vehicle onto a collision-avoiding swerve trajectory, it is detected whether the driver heeds the warning and initiates a swerve maneuver, and if the driver initiates a swerve maneuver, a driver-independent implementation of a steering or braking intervention assisting in the steering onto the swerve trajectory takes place.

Claims

1. A method for providing swerve assistance for a motor vehicle, the method comprising: detecting, via a sensor system of the motor vehicle, a threatening or imminent collision of the motor vehicle; notifying, via a processor of the motor vehicle, a driver to steer the motor vehicle onto a collision-avoiding swerve trajectory; detecting, via the processor of the motor vehicle, whether the driver initiates a swerve maneuver to provide the collision-avoiding swerve trajectory; and implementing, via the processor of the motor vehicle, if the driver initiates the swerve maneuver, a driver-independent steering or braking intervention which assists in the guidance onto the swerve trajectory, wherein at least one of the following is satisfied: (i) an intensity of the driver-independent steering or braking intervention is a function of a time period that lies between the output of the driver notification and the initiation of the swerve maneuver on the part of the driver, and (ii) an intensity of the driver-independent steering or braking intervention depends on whether the driver steers in the direction of the swerve trajectory or counter to the direction of the swerve trajectory, and wherein after the threatening or imminent collision has been detected, the collision-avoiding swerve trajectory is ascertained.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: reducing, after the collision-avoiding swerve trajectory has been ascertained, a detection threshold for detecting a swerve-intention by the driver in the direction of a swerve recommendation.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: increasing, after the collision-avoiding swerve trajectory has been ascertained, a detection threshold for detecting a swerve-intention by the driver and that is counter to the direction of a swerve recommendation.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the intensity of the driver-independent steering or braking intervention is a function of the time period that lies between the output of the driver notification and the initiation of the swerve maneuver on the part of the driver.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the intensity of the driver-independent steering or braking intervention depends on whether the driver steers in the direction of the swerve trajectory or counter to the direction of the swerve trajectory.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein an additional driver-independent steering torque is superimposed to a steering torque input by the driver in the driver-independent steering intervention.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the driver-independent steering intervention is a steering intervention at a rear axle.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the driver-independent braking intervention is a braking intervention that is asymmetrical with respect to a left side and a right side of the motor vehicle.

9. A device for providing swerve assistance for a motor vehicle, comprising: a detecting arrangement of the motor vehicle to detect a threatening or imminent collision of the motor vehicle; a notifying arrangement of the motor vehicle to notify a driver to steer the motor vehicle onto a collision-avoiding swerve trajectory; another detecting arrangement of the motor vehicle to detect whether the driver initiates a swerve maneuver to provide the collision-avoiding swerve trajectory; and an implementing arrangement of the motor vehicle to implement, if the driver initiates the swerve maneuver, a driver-independent steering or braking intervention which assists in the guidance onto the swerve trajectory, wherein at least one of the following is satisfied: (i) an intensity of the driver-independent steering or braking intervention is a function of a time period that lies between the output of the driver notification and the initiation of the swerve maneuver on the part of the driver, and (ii) an intensity of the driver-independent steering or braking intervention depends on whether the driver steers in the direction of the swerve trajectory or counter to the direction of the swerve trajectory, and wherein after the threatening or imminent collision has been detected, the collision-avoiding swerve trajectory is ascertained.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein after the collision-avoiding swerve trajectory has been ascertained, a detection threshold is reduced for detecting a swerve-intention by the driver in the direction of a swerve recommendation.

11. The device of claim 9, wherein after the collision-avoiding swerve trajectory has been ascertained, a detection threshold is increased for detecting a swerve-intention by the driver and that is counter to the direction of a swerve recommendation.

12. The device of claim 9, wherein the intensity of the driver-independent steering or braking intervention is a function of the time period that lies between the output of the driver notification and the initiation of the swerve maneuver on the part of the driver.

13. The device of claim 9, wherein the intensity of the driver-independent steering or braking intervention depends on whether the driver steers in the direction of the swerve trajectory or counter to the direction of the swerve trajectory.

14. The device of claim 9, wherein an additional driver-independent steering torque is superimposed to a steering torque input by the driver in the driver-independent steering intervention.

15. The device of claim 9, wherein the driver-independent steering intervention is a steering intervention at a rear axle.

16. The device of claim 9, wherein the driver-independent braking intervention is a braking intervention that is asymmetrical with respect to a left side and a right side of the motor vehicle.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

(1) FIG. 1 shows the sequence of one specific embodiment of the method according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(2) The present invention can be described by the following method tasks. In particular point 3 is optional in this context and, depending on the system, is also able to be carried out at a different time.

(3) Step 1: A looming collision is detected via methods of the environmental sensor system.

(4) Step 2: A swerve recommendation is output to the driver. This may be done in the following manners, for instance: a haptic recommendation, e.g., by a steering torque, a visual recommendation, e.g., via a head-up display, an acoustic recommendation, e.g., by a warning sound;

(5) Step 3: System parameters of the active swerve assistance are adapted. The following measures may be among them, for example: Reducing the detection threshold for a swerve-intention detection in the direction of the swerve recommendation; Increasing the detection threshold for a swerve-intention detection counter to the direction of the swerve recommendation; Parameterizing the assistance intensity in accordance with the duration of the recommended action until the start of the driver-initiated swerve maneuver, Parameterizing the assistance intensity according to the direction of the driver-initiated swerve maneuver, depending on whether the driver is steering in the recommended direction or counter to the recommended direction.

(6) Step 4: After a swerve intention has been detected, implementing the active swerve assistance along a swerve trajectory, for instance by the following interactions: Steering torque superimpositioning Steering angle superimpositioning or the use of rear axle steering, for instance, An asymmetrical braking intervention to assist in the lateral control of the vehicle.

(7) The sequence of one specific embodiment of the method according to the present invention is shown in FIG. 1. After the method is started in block 100, it is subsequently queried in block 101 whether a collision of the motor vehicle is looming or imminent. If this is not the case, then a return to block 100 takes place. If this is the case, however, the driver will then be told in block 102 to steer the vehicle onto a collision-avoiding swerve trajectory, i.e., the driver is also made aware of the looming collision. In block 103, it is then queried whether the driver initiates a swerve maneuver. If this is not the case, a return to block 100 takes place. However, if this is so, then a driver-independent braking and/or steering intervention, which supports the swerve maneuver of the driver, is started in block 104. The method according to the present invention ends in block 105.