Method for adjusting the duration of driving direction indication of a vehicle

Abstract

In a method according to the invention for adjusting the duration of a driving direction indication of a vehicle, the driving direction indication can be manually actuated in order to display a planned change of direction to other road users via the driving direction indicator of the vehicle. A manual actuation of the driving direction indication is detected (10). An operating mode is identified (11) by analyzing the manual actuation. The duration of the driving direction indication is then automatically adjusted (12) based on the identified operating mode.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a method for adjusting the duration of a driving direction indication of a vehicle. The invention also relates to a device for carrying out the method and a vehicle which is designed to carry out such a method or has such a device. Background Art

[0002] Vehicles used in public road traffic are provided with a direction indicator, by which the vehicle driver can indicate a change in direction or a notice thereof to other road users. For the purpose of indicating the direction of travel, a direction indicator is arranged on the side of the vehicle, which is usually part of the vehicle lighting system and is implemented as a flashing light (or flashing signal light) and is accordingly colloquially referred to as a flasher. For example, in Germany, road traffic regulations stipulate that a turn process or a lane change must be promptly and clearly announced by a flashing direction indicator. However, there is no provision for the required flashing frequency or duration.

[0003] The flashers are activated by manually moving a flasher lever arranged in the area of ​​the vehicle's steering column in accordance with the planned change of direction of travel. The flashers then remain activated during the turning process until they are manually turned off (or deactivated) by the driver. In addition, the vehicle driver can move the flasher lever to an intermediate position, for example when planning (or intending) to change lanes, wherein the flasher function remains activated regardless of the steering wheel position while the flasher lever is held in this position. When the flasher lever is released, the flashers are turned off. The steering angle of the steering wheel can also be evaluated. If the steering wheel is then turned back by the same degree after being turned in the direction of the turning process, it can be concluded that the turning process has been completed and the flashers are automatically turned off.

[0004] For a lane change maneuver, the steering wheel is rotated at a small angle, so that the end of the lane change maneuver cannot be effectively detected based on this. Therefore, many vehicles now also have a comfort flashing function, in which the flasher lever only needs to be tapped once to start a flashing cycle of the turn signal indicator with multiple flashes and the turn signal indicator is automatically switched off again after that. In this case, the frequency with which the turn signal indicator lights up in the flashing cycle is stored in the flasher control device. The turn signal indicator usually lights up three times in such a predefined flashing cycle, but other different flashing cycles are also possible.

[0005] The disadvantage of the solution in which the flashers are controlled for a constant duration is that the duration of the lane change maneuver and the turning maneuver is not constant and depends on many factors. Therefore, there are methods to adapt the flasher control device to the current driving situation. Therefore, US 2004 / 0100373 A1 describes an intelligent flasher control system for switching on and off the flashers of a vehicle according to the situation. In this case, the wheel movement of the left and right wheels of the vehicle is detected by wheel speed sensors. By analyzing the difference in the wheel movement signals determined in this way, it is determined when the turning process is completed, so that the activated flashers are switched off based on this.

[0006] US 2004 / 0143381 A1 discloses a method for automatically operating a direction indicator of a vehicle, wherein environmental data of the vehicle are detected to determine the vehicle position. A lane change or a change in direction of travel is determined based on the environmental data, so that the direction indicator is turned on before the lane change or the change in direction of travel and is turned off again after the lane change or the change in direction of travel. If the driver repeatedly intervenes manually at a certain position of the vehicle, the digital map can be adjusted and the direction indicator can be automatically operated even for traffic guidance routes that are not shown on the digital map. The operation of the direction indicator can also be adapted to the driver's driving style by recording and analyzing the time and / or the position of the vehicle when the driver manually operates the direction indicator.

[0007] Finally, US 2006 / 0092005 A1 relates to an improvement for signaling a lane change maneuver, wherein the position of the vehicle relative to the lane of the road is detected by a camera. After a manual actuation to switch off the direction indicator, the flashing signal is switched off if the vehicle is in the prescribed position relative to the lane, while the switch-off is prevented if the lane change has not yet been completed. If the driver regularly interrupts the direction indication before the lane change is completed, an average time delay until the direction indicator is switched off can be used. Summary of the invention

[0008] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an improved method for adjusting the duration of a driving direction indication of a vehicle.

[0009] The technical problem is solved by a method for adjusting the duration of a driving direction indication of a vehicle.

[0010] In the method according to the invention for adjusting the duration of a driving direction indication of a vehicle, the driving direction indication can be manually actuated in order to display a planned change of direction to other road users via the driving direction indicator of the vehicle. The manual actuation of the driving direction indication is detected. The operating mode is identified by analyzing the manual actuation. The duration of the driving direction indication is then automatically adjusted based on the identified operating mode.

[0011] In this way, a user-specific adjustment of the flashing duration can be achieved in a simple, inexpensive and reliable manner, compared to solutions which are either based on a constant flashing duration or require the evaluation of additional sensor signals, such as from an external camera, thereby increasing safety and comfort when driving a vehicle equipped with such a method.

[0012] According to one specific embodiment of the invention, the driving direction indication of the vehicle can be manually activated and / or deactivated by the driver of the vehicle, wherein in the case of manual activation the driving direction indication is automatically deactivated after a predefined duration.

[0013] In particular, in addition to the manual actuation of the driving direction indication, the time of this manual actuation (or the point in time) is detected and evaluated.

[0014] Advantageously, detection is performed by analyzing the detected manual actuations and times when the driving direction indication repeatedly occurs, after first being manually activated and then automatically deactivated after a predefined duration, being manually activated again within a preset time interval and / or being manually deactivated before the predefined duration has expired.

[0015] Preferably, the duration of the driving direction indication is automatically adjusted if the flashing duration is too short and therefore the number of events in which the flashers were manually activated multiple times and / or the flashing duration is too long and the number of events in which the flashers were manually deactivated exceeds a predefined share of the total detected flashing events.

[0016] It is also advantageous if the duration of the driving direction indication is automatically extended if the flashing duration is too short and the number of events in which the flashers were therefore manually activated multiple times exceeds by a predefined factor the number of events in which the flashing duration is too long and the flashers were manually turned off, and / or the duration of the driving direction indication is automatically reduced if the flashing duration is too short and the number of events in which the flashers were therefore manually activated multiple times is lower than (or does not exceed) by a predefined factor the number of events in which the flashing duration is too long and the flashers were manually turned off.

[0017] In particular, the driving direction indicator can be designed as a flashing light which flashes in a predefined flashing cycle after being activated, wherein the number of bright phases of the flashing cycle is adjusted when the duration of the driving direction indication is adjusted.

[0018] Furthermore, it is preferably possible to identify individual operating modes for different users of the vehicle, wherein the duration of the driving direction indication is adjusted based on the individual operating mode of the current user.

[0019] The invention also relates to a device which is provided for carrying out such a method and to a motor vehicle in which the method according to the invention is used or in which the device according to the invention is installed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Other features of the present invention are apparent from the following description and claims in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

[0021] Figure 1 A flow chart schematically shows a method according to the present invention for adjusting the duration of a driving direction indication of a vehicle;

[0022] FIG. 2 schematically shows the time course of manually reactivating the driving direction indication after the driving direction indication is automatically turned off (A) and the time course of the flashing cycle that was interrupted in advance (B); and

[0023] Figure 3 A detail of a motor vehicle is schematically shown in which the method according to the invention is carried out. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] In order to better understand the principle of the present invention, the following embodiments of the present invention are described in more detail according to the accompanying drawings. Of course, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and the described features can also be combined or modified without departing from the protection scope of the present invention as defined in the claims.

[0025] Figure 1 A flow chart of an exemplary embodiment of a method according to the present invention is schematically shown, which can be implemented in a vehicle for adjusting a flashing duration.

[0026] According to a first method step 10 , manual actuation of the direction indicator, ie manual activation and deactivation, is detected by the vehicle. A detection is also performed when the direction indicator is automatically deactivated after a predefined duration in the event of manual activation.

[0027] In this context, the detection can take place in particular when a flasher stalk of the vehicle is actuated by the vehicle driver in order to activate a convenience flashing function of the vehicle before a turning or lane change process or to deactivate the convenience flashing function prematurely after completion of the process.

[0028] Here, an identification number ID is assigned to each individual detected flashing event. This identification number ID is stored together with information about whether the flasher is activated or turned off, whether the turn-off is implemented by the driver or automatically, and the time stamp of the moment when the flashing event is presented. Examples of such flashing events can be found in the following table.

[0029]

[0030]

[0031] A number of such manual actuations are then analyzed in method step 11 in order to determine therefrom the driver's operating pattern when the flashers are actuated. Methods for pattern recognition familiar to those skilled in the art allow the driver's preferences to be learned only with the aid of a statistical model based on training data when the flashers are used.

[0032] Thus, for example, the duration of a lane change maneuver, which is carried out and displayed, depends on the respective driver. Some drivers carry out the lane change as quickly as possible, while others prefer a gentler maneuver. There are also different preferences as to how early before the lane change the lane change should be displayed to other road users by activating the flashers, or at what point in time the flashers should be turned off again after the lane change has been completed.

[0033] In the subsequent method step 12, after the learning phase is completed, the duration of the driving direction indication is automatically adjusted based on the recognized operating mode. In the case of the comfort flashing function, the flashing cycle initially includes three flashes of the flasher according to the preset flashing cycle, so for example, for the comfort flashing function, the flashing cycle can be automatically adjusted according to the user's preference, for example shortened to two flashes of the flasher or extended to five flashes of the flasher.

[0034] In order to illustrate the pattern recognition, two examples of different time courses of the driving direction indication are schematically shown in FIG. 2 , which respectively present whether the driving direction indication is on or off in a time-dependent manner. Figure 2A The time course of manually reactivating the driving direction indication after the driving direction indication is automatically deactivated is shown, and the sub Figure 2B Shows a flashing cycle that was manually interrupted early.

[0035] In the child Figure 2AIn the case shown, the predefined duration d of the convenience flashing function is not sufficient for the driver, so the driver manually activates the convenience flashing function a second time after the automatic deactivation. Here, only if the second activation takes place before the end of the time period Δt after the automatic deactivation is it assumed that the driver actually wants the second activation and therefore extends the convenience flashing function. This time period Δt must not be too large in order to avoid confusion with two consecutive driving direction indications for two unrelated driving direction changes and can be, for example, one second.

[0036] It can also be detected if the comfort flashing function is activated a second time before the initial flashing cycle has ended. This can then also be evaluated as an indicator that the predefined duration of the comfort flashing function seems too short for the driver.

[0037] And in Figure 2B In the case shown, the predefined duration d of the comfort flashing function was too long for the driver, so that the driver manually interrupted the comfort flashing function after the duration d'. In this case, the flashing duration is only adjusted if the flashing process is clearly turned off by the driver before the automatic termination, for example, when the duration d-d' is more than one second.

[0038] To adjust the flashing duration, the flashing events are detected and evaluated as described above within a certain time period. In particular, the number r1 of events in which the flashing duration was too short and the flasher was therefore manually activated multiple times and / or the number r2 of events in which the flashing duration was too long and the flasher was manually deactivated is determined, and the ratio of these number r1 or r2 to the total number r of flashing events is determined. If it is found that the proportion of manual reactivations exceeds the proportion of manual deactivations by a predefined factor C1, the ratio of the number r1 and r2 of events in which the flasher is manually deactivated is determined.

[0039] r1>C1·r2

[0040] and the proportion of manual reactivations exceeds a predefined proportion L1 of the total detected manual manipulations

[0041] r1>L1

[0042] The flashing duration is extended.

[0043] If it is found that the manually deactivated share exceeds the manually reactivated share by a predefined factor C2

[0044] r2>C2·r1

[0045] And the share of manual closing exceeds the predefined share L2 of the total detected manual manipulations

[0046] r2>L2

[0047] The flashing duration is shortened.

[0048] After each adjustment of the flash duration, whether the flash duration was shortened or extended, the variables r1 and r2 are reset. In this way, it can be ensured that only events whose flash duration is too short or too long compared to the last updated flash duration are taken into account for the necessary readjustment of the flash duration.

[0049] Here, C1, C2, L1 and L2 are parameters determined before the learning phase. Different parameters can be selected for extending or shortening the flicker duration, but the same parameters can also be used, namely C1=C2 and L1=L2. However, C1 and C2 must always be greater than 1.0.

[0050] It can also be provided that the flasher control device is individually adjusted for different users of the vehicle. For this purpose, for example, the user driving the vehicle is identified based on an individual vehicle key or by means of an interior camera in order to learn the individual operating pattern of the user and then adjust the duration of the driving direction indication based on the individual operating pattern of the user.

[0051] Figure 3 A vehicle 20 is schematically shown in which the method according to the invention is implemented. The vehicle 20 has a steering wheel 21 and a flasher lever 22 arranged next to the steering wheel. When the flasher lever 22 is actuated, a signal is transmitted to a device 23 for flasher control, which controls the flashers 24 accordingly. In addition, with each actuation of the flasher lever 22, data with information about the actuation are transmitted to an evaluation and control unit 25. The information transmission can take place via a data bus 26 of the vehicle, for example a CAN bus.

[0052] As described above, the analysis and control unit 25 determines the operating mode for operating the driving direction indication based on the transmitted data. If the analysis shows that the duration of the driving direction indication should be adjusted based on the operating mode, the analysis and control unit 25 controls the device 23 for controlling the flashers accordingly, which then selects the flashing duration of the flashers 24 that corresponds to the adjustment when the flashers are actuated in the future. In addition, the driver can be informed of the adjustment of the flashing duration via the human-machine interface 27, for example, by a prompt on a display or a voice output.

[0053] The evaluation and control unit 25 can be implemented, for example, in a control unit of a central electrical system of a vehicle and can implement the method according to the invention via a microprocessor. The instructions necessary for implementing the method can be stored in an internal electronic memory (not shown). The device 23 for controlling the flashers can be implemented, for example, as a control unit specially provided for flashers 24 of a vehicle. Furthermore, the device 23 for controlling the flashers and the evaluation and control unit 25 can be implemented in a common control unit.

[0054] Reference numerals list

[0055] 10-12 Methods and Steps

[0056] d Predefined duration of the comfort flashing function

[0057] d' Duration until manual interruption

[0058] Δt is the preset time interval between two flashing cycles.

[0059] 20. Transportation

[0060] 21 Steering Wheel

[0061] 22 Flasher lever

[0062] 23 Device for flasher control

[0063] 24 Flash

[0064] 25 Analysis and control unit

[0065] 26 Data Bus

[0066] 27 Human Machine Interface

Claims

1. A method for adjusting the duration of a driving direction indication of a vehicle (20), wherein: The driving direction indicator can be manually actuated in order to display the planned change of direction to other road users via a driving direction indicator (24) of the vehicle, wherein: - detecting (10) manual manipulation of the driving direction indication; - identifying (11) an operating mode by analyzing the manual manipulation; and - automatically adjusting (12) the duration of the driving direction indication based on the identified operating mode, In this case, personalized operation modes are identified for different users of the vehicle, and the duration of the driving direction indication is adjusted based on the personalized operation mode of the current user. In addition to the manual actuation of the driving direction indication, the times of these manual actuations are detected and evaluated. In this case, the detection is performed by analyzing the detected manual manipulations and the times when it repeatedly occurs that the driving direction indication is manually activated again within a preset time interval (Δt) after being manually activated for the first time and then automatically switched off after a predefined duration (d) has elapsed and / or is manually switched off before the predefined duration (d) has elapsed, If the number of events in which the flashing duration was too short and the flashers were therefore manually activated multiple times exceeds the number of events in which the flashing duration was too long and the flashers were manually switched off by a predefined factor, the duration of the driving direction indication is automatically extended, and / or if the number of events in which the flashing duration was too short and the flashers were therefore manually activated multiple times falls by a predefined factor below the number of events in which the flashing duration was too long and the flashers were manually switched off, the duration of the driving direction indication is automatically reduced.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The driving direction indication of the vehicle can be manually activated and / or deactivated by the driver of the vehicle, and in the case of manual activation the driving direction indication is automatically deactivated after a predefined duration (d).

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein: If the flashing duration is too short and therefore the number of events in which the flashers were manually activated multiple times and / or the flashing duration is too long and the number of events in which the flashers were manually deactivated exceeds a predefined share of the total detected flashing events, the duration of the driving direction indication is automatically adjusted.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The driving direction indicator is designed as a flashing light (24) which flashes in a predefined flashing cycle after being activated and adjusts the number of bright phases of the flashing cycle when the duration of the driving direction indication is adjusted. 5 . A device for adjusting the duration of a driving direction indication of a vehicle, the device being configured to carry out the method according to claim 1 . 6 . A motor vehicle which is configured to carry out a method according to claim 1 or which has a device according to claim 5 .

Images