Semi-automated lane changing

Abstract

The invention relates to a lane change assistant for a vehicle comprising a sensor arrangement for calculating information relating to lanes and other road users. Provided is an arithmetic and logic unit for calculating movement paths for a first lane change and a subsequent second lane change to the original lane. The vehicle driver can accept or initiate the calculated lane changes. An actuator unit can then execute the lane changes calculated by the arithmetic and logic unit and initiated by the vehicle driver upon receipt of a signal from the arithmetic and logic unit.

Claims

1. A lane change assistant for a vehicle comprising: a sensor arrangement designed to calculate information relating to lanes and other road users, an arithmetic and logic unit designed to calculate movement paths for a first lane change and a subsequent second lane change to the original lane, an input unit designed to capture an input from the vehicle driver and to transmit it to the arithmetic and logic unit, and an actuator unit designed to execute the lane changes calculated by the arithmetic and logic unit and initiated by the vehicle driver upon receipt of a signal from the arithmetic and logic unit.

2. The lane change assistant of claim 1, further comprising a notification unit designed to communicate information about the calculated lane changes to the vehicle driver.

3. The lane change assistant of claim 2, wherein the lane change assistant is designed to carry out both lane changes upon receipt of one confirmation of the information communicated by the notification unit by the vehicle driver prior to initiation of the first lane change.

4. The lane change assistant of claim 1, wherein the actuator unit increases the speed of the vehicle before and during the first lane change and reduces the speed during and after the second lane change.

5. The lane change assistant of claim 1, wherein the lane change assistant is designed not to carry out the second lane change to the original lane when the sensor arrangement provides the arithmetic and logic unit with information about detected obstacles in the original lane.

6. The lane change assistant of claim 1, wherein the lane change assistant is designed not to carry out the second lane change to the original lane when the sensor arrangement provides the arithmetic and logic unit with information about at least one vehicle in the second lane, which the at least one vehicle is moving more slowly than the target speed of the vehicle.

7. The lane change assistant of claim 1, further comprising: a storage unit, wherein the storage unit comprises a digital map containing information relating to the number of lanes and is designed to provide this information to the arithmetic and logic unit, and wherein the lane change assistant is designed to calculate the movement paths for the lane changes only when at least two lanes are stored in the digital map.

8. The lane change assistant of claim 7, wherein the lane change assistant is designed to only calculate the movement paths for the lane changes when the second lane is a lane for the current main direction of travel of the vehicle in the original lane.

9. The lane change assistant of claim 8, wherein the lane change assistant is designed to only calculate the movement paths for the lane changes when the second lane is the faster lane.

10. The lane change assistant of claim 7, wherein the lane change assistant is designed to only calculate the movement paths for the lane changes when the arithmetic and logic unit calculates sufficient space for the vehicle in the second lane.

11. The lane change assistant of claim 1, wherein the lane change assistant is designed to only carry out the lane changes when the time calculated for executing the movement paths falls below a pre-defined length of time.

12. A method for a vehicle for executing a first lane change and a subsequent second lane change to the original lane of the vehicle comprising: calculating information relating to lanes and other road users with a sensor arrangement; calculating movement paths for the first lane change and the subsequent second lane change to the original lane with an arithmetic and logic unit; wherein the vehicle driver performs an input at the input unit; and executing the lane changes calculated by the arithmetic and logic unit and initiated by the vehicle driver upon receipt of a signal from the arithmetic and logic unit by steering movements of the vehicle controlled by an actuator unit.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising prompting the lane change assistant to execute with a programming element, run on the arithmetic and logic unit.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising a computer-readable medium, on which a programming element is stored.

15. A vehicle proving a lane change assistant comprising; a sensor arrangement designed to calculate information relating to lanes and other road users, an arithmetic and logic unit designed to calculate movement paths for a first lane change and a subsequent second lane change to the original lane, an input unit designed to capture an input from the vehicle driver and to transmit it to the arithmetic and logic unit, and an actuator unit designed to execute the lane changes calculated by the arithmetic and logic unit and initiated by the vehicle driver upon receipt of a signal from the arithmetic and logic unit.

16. The vehicle of claim 15, further comprising a notification unit designed to communicate information about the calculated lane changes to the vehicle driver.

17. The vehicle of claim 16, wherein the lane change assistant is designed to carry out both lane changes upon receipt of one confirmation of the information communicated by the notification unit by the vehicle driver prior to initiation of the first lane change.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0043] The present disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0044] FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a method according to one embodiment of the invention;

[0045] FIG. 2 shows a schematic representation of a vehicle having suitable devices according to one embodiment of the invention; and

[0046] FIG. 3 shows a schematic representation of the lane changes according to one embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] The representation in the figures is schematic and is not true to scale. If the same reference numerals are used in the various figures, these denote the same or similar elements.

[0048] FIG. 1 shows a method for a vehicle 1 for executing a first lane change 21 and a subsequent second lane change 22 to the original lane of the vehicle 1. This method comprises the following steps: calculation S1 of information relating to lanes 50a, 50b and other road users by a sensor arrangement 11; calculation S2 of movement paths for the first lane change 21 and the subsequent second lane change 22 to the original lane 50a by an arithmetic and logic unit 12; performance S3 of an input at an input unit (14) by the vehicle driver; and execution S4 of the lane changes 21, 22 calculated by the arithmetic and logic unit 12 and initiated by the vehicle driver upon receipt of a signal from the arithmetic and logic unit 12 by the actuator unit 15 by means of steering movements of the vehicle 1.

[0049] FIG. 2 shows a vehicle 1 having a lane change assistant comprising a sensor arrangement 11, an arithmetic and logic unit 12, a notification unit 13, an input unit 14, and an actuator unit 15.

[0050] FIG. 3 shows one possible embodiment example for carrying out the lane changes with a vehicle 1. To this end, there are two lanes, the right lane 50a and the left lane 50b. The vehicle may initially be located in the right lane 50a in this example, when the obstacle 30 is detected by the sensor arrangement 11. The right lane 50a is therefore the original lane. In this example, the left lane 50b is a second lane in the same direction as the first lane 50a. The example applies to countries in which vehicles drive on the right.

[0051] The first lane 50a is thus nominally the slower lane, and the second lane 50b is the nominal overtaking lane. Since the speed of the vehicle 1 is greater than the speed of the obstacle 30, and the sensor arrangement 11 of the vehicle 1 also detects this, the arithmetic and logic unit 12 calculates a possible overtaking maneuver which consists of two lane changes 21, 22. Since those sensors of the sensor arrangement 11, which are directed towards the side and slightly diagonally towards the rear, do not detect any further obstacles in the second lane 50b, this is observed to be free.

[0052] The arithmetic and logic unit 12 therefore calculates two lane changes 21, 22, with the second lane change 22 being directed back to the right lane 50a, and sends a notification signal to the notification unit 13. The notification unit 13 communicates the possible lane changes 21, 22 to the vehicle driver. Subsequently, the vehicle driver can himself decide, possibly after examining the traffic situation, whether he agrees to the proposed lane changes 21, 22. If the vehicle driver agrees to the proposed lane changes 21, 22, he communicates this to the vehicle 1 by means of the input unit 14. A signal with the information affirming the possible lane changes is transmitted to the arithmetic and logic unit 12 by the input unit 14. The arithmetic and logic unit 12 can then forward suitable signals to the actuator unit 15 in order to carry out the lane changes 21, 22.

[0053] It may be possible that the arithmetic and logic unit 12 and the actuator unit 15, together with the sensor arrangement 11, continue to interact during the carrying out of the lane changes 21, 22, since it is basically a control engineering task to also make the lane changes 21, 22 as planned. This may require some corrections by the actuator unit 15, since it is impossible to capture all of the disturbance variables completely from the outset. Examples of disturbance variables can be gusts from the side, road surface undulations, unevenness of the road surface, and asymmetry in the wheel suspension or curves in the road, which the actuators on the vehicle steering can counter.

[0054] Following a positive confirmation, the first lane change 21 is then initiated by steering the vehicle 1, in particular by the actuator unit 15. The positive confirmation by the vehicle driver may, in this example, be provided by actuating the direction-indicator control, i.e. by indicating left. The lane change 21 can be composed, for example, of two arcs in opposite directions and one transient phase each at the start and at the end of the lane change 21 and in the reversal of the steering direction from “steer left” to “steer right”. The vehicle 1 is then located in the second lane 50b and accelerates as of the first lane change 21. The sensor arrangement detects that the obstacle 30 has been passed and reports this to the arithmetic and logic unit 12.

[0055] The arithmetic and logic unit 12 continues to list the second lane change 22′ as a task which still has to be carried out, which is to be executed as soon as the obstacle 30 has been overtaken at a sufficient distance. However, in this example, after passing the obstacle 30, the sensor arrangement 11 may detect a further obstacle 31 and, at the same time, capture the distance between the obstacle 30 and the obstacle 31, and transmit this to the arithmetic and logic unit 12. In this example, the distance between the two obstacles 30, 31 is estimated by the arithmetic and logic unit as being too short to carry out a safe second lane change 22′ behind the first obstacle 30. The lane change 22′ is therefore discarded by the arithmetic and logic unit, and a second lane change 22 behind the second obstacle 31 is scheduled by the arithmetic and logic unit 12. This can also be communicated to the vehicle driver by means of the notification unit 13. The vehicle 1 therefore remains in the second lane 50b until the sensor arrangement 11 transmits the overtaking of the obstacle 31 at a sufficient distance to the arithmetic and logic unit 12.

[0056] Once this event has occurred, the arithmetic and logic unit 12 transmits a command to change lanes to the actuator unit 15, wherein this lane change 22 is directed back to the original lane 50a of the vehicle 1. The vehicle 1 therefore automatically carries out the second lane change 22 and is back in the original lane 50a.

[0057] The foregoing preferred embodiments have been shown and described for the purposes of illustrating the structural and functional principles of the present invention, as well as illustrating the methods of employing the preferred embodiments and are subject to change without departing from such principles. Therefore, this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the scope of the following claims.