A wheel trajectory sight for assisted driving

Abstract

The application provides a wheel trajectory sight for assisting driving, which is used for helping the driver to quickly aim directly by relying on naked eyes, accurately predicting the ground trajectory and trajectory band of the wheel without affecting safe driving, and extending the trajectory band to the key position in the forward field of view according to the actual road condition, so as to win sufficient response time for the driver to calmly deal with complex situations and make active decisions to choose to avoid or pass. The application has the characteristics of accurate positioning, strong timeliness, convenient installation, flexible adjustment, wide application, low cost and the like, has excellent use and promotion value, and can be widely applied to scenes such as narrow road passing, meeting prediction, emergency risk avoidance and stunt driving under various road conditions. The rapid improvement of the driver's related skills is also helpful for the traffic management department to improve the passing efficiency of the road and reduce various traffic accidents from collision to scratching, and is a powerful assistant for cost reduction and efficiency increase.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of vehicle driver assistance, and in particular to the technical field of wheel trajectory judgment and recognition. Background Technology

[0002] In recent years, the number of cars on the road has increased dramatically. Whether in cities or rural areas, traffic is increasingly congested, roads are overburdened, and vehicles frequently approach or pass each other. Problems such as narrow road maneuvers and emergency avoidance are prominent, leading to frequent accidents and dangerous situations. Novice drivers struggle to control the trajectory of their wheels and the position of their vehicles. When encountering complex road conditions, they can only slow down and stop, easily causing traffic jams or even accidents. Even experienced drivers, lacking reliable judgment, rely on years of experience and trial-and-error through close observation, resulting in very low accuracy. This is especially true when anticipating narrow roads at high speeds, leaving them helpless. In emergencies, they often have no time to react, frequently resorting to emergency braking or taking unnecessary risks, greatly increasing the probability of accidents. There are four common solutions to these problems, briefly explained below.

[0003] The first method, the traditional one for judging wheel tracks, involves driving instructors suggesting observing protrusions on windshield wipers, hood parts, headlights, or the outer edge of the front of the car, etc., and connecting these visually observed protrusions to the ground to determine the location of the wheel tracks. This method is very crude; the results vary greatly depending on the driver's size and seat position, and it ignores the difference in visual perception (which can deviate by up to 0.5 meters), making it extremely easy to misjudge and cause accidents. Furthermore, it is unusable in extreme weather conditions such as rain or snow.

[0004] The second method, vehicle radar-assisted driving, has the following drawbacks: short working distance, insufficient response time, inability to actively predict in advance, and can only be used at close range and low speeds; low positioning accuracy, many blind spots, and obvious defects such as no sensing of irregular objects or objects at too low a position; it transmits warning signals through sound and digital information, which is not intuitive in terms of distance perception and has a small amount of information. If one is distracted by looking at the screen, it will affect driving safety.

[0005] The third method, camera-assisted driving, while visually intuitive, requires the human eye to compare the screen image with the actual road conditions, resulting in low conversion efficiency. It can only be used for short-range obstacle avoidance and blind spot elimination at low speeds. At high speeds, the reaction time is insufficient, the distant image is too small, the image is distorted, and the sense of position is poor, making accurate predictions impossible. Furthermore, in complex road conditions, the driver is distracted by the image, which is inherently dangerous.

[0006] The fourth method is lane departure warning: Current technology requires real-time acquisition of lane marking signals for calculations, thus imposing many limitations. For example, the Toyota User Manual requires lane width > 3m and speed > 50km / h, meaning it's unusable on narrow roads and at low speeds. Furthermore, it's unusable in inclement weather and requires perfectly clear road markings. If these conditions are met, and the vehicle deviates from the lane markings on a wide road at high speed without the driver noticing, then the practical value of this technology lies more in semi-autonomous driving, cruise control, or emergency remediation in situations of driver fatigue. Therefore, this technology differs somewhat from the field of this invention, which focuses on the identification and judgment of wheel trajectories, emphasizing proactive defense.

[0007] Both traditional and modern electronic device solutions have obvious drawbacks and limited usability. Therefore, we need a convenient, efficient, and high-precision wheel trajectory aiming device to provide technical support for improving driver skills, alleviating traffic congestion, and reducing traffic accidents. Summary of the Invention

[0008] To address the aforementioned problems, this invention provides a wheel trajectory aiming device for assisted driving. This device helps drivers quickly aim with their naked eyes, accurately predicting the wheel's ground trajectory and trajectory strip without compromising safe driving. Furthermore, based on actual road conditions, the trajectory strip is extended forward into key positions, giving drivers ample time to anticipate and respond, allowing them to calmly handle complex situations, make proactive decisions, and choose to evade or proceed.

[0009] To facilitate understanding of this invention, the following description, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, is divided into six parts, providing a comprehensive and detailed account of the method principles and examples of this invention. However, the scope of protection of this invention is not limited to the specific content and data described below. Unless otherwise defined, all technical terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art. The technical terms used herein are for the purpose of describing specific implementations based on the principles and methods of this invention and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of this invention.

[0010] 1. The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve its technical problem.

[0011] like Figure 1As shown, a wheel trajectory aiming device for assisted driving includes: a base 1, a base slide rail 2, a vehicle width scale 3, a left pupil distance scale 4, a right pupil distance scale 5, a left-eye left wheel vernier 6, a right-eye left wheel vernier 7, a left-eye right wheel vernier 8, a right-eye right wheel vernier 9, and a wheel width scale 10. The base 1 is used to fix the aiming device above the dashboard at the front of the vehicle. The base slide rail 2 connects the left pupil distance scale 4 and the right pupil distance scale 5. The scale below the slide rail is the vehicle width scale 3 (slightly larger than the distance between the outer edges of the left and right wheels). The left pupil distance scale 4 connects the left-eye left wheel vernier 6 and the right-eye left wheel vernier 7, and the right pupil distance scale 5 connects the left-eye right wheel vernier 8 and the right-eye right wheel vernier 9. Both pupil distance scales are used to match and eliminate parallax caused by the driver's interpupillary distance. The four verniers are quadrilaterals, narrower at the top and wider at the bottom, and are connected to the corresponding pupil distance scales through slots or nesting, etc., and can slide freely. Each vernier surface is printed with a wheel width scale 10, which is used to match the width of wheels of different vehicle models to ensure that the width of the wheel track on the ground matches the actual width of the road surface covered by the wheel.

[0012] 2. The installation and commissioning method of the present invention.

[0013] The first step is to perform coarse parameter settings. For example... Figure 1 As shown, adjust the left pupil distance scale 4 and the right pupil distance scale 5 according to the vehicle width value, and slide their center pointers to the scale position corresponding to the vehicle width scale 3 to complete the vehicle width setting. Figure 1 The vehicle shown in the example has a width of approximately 1780 mm. Figure 2 As shown, based on the driver's pupillary distance value, slide the left eye left wheel vernier 6 and the right eye left wheel vernier 7 until their center pointers are aligned with the specific scale position of the left pupillary distance scale 4. Figure 2 In the example, the driver's pupil distance is approximately 6.8mm. The right pupil distance setting on scale 5 is similarly completed by referring to this setting. Figure 3 As shown, based on the wheel width value, the invalid areas of the four vernier heads are cut off or folded back and hidden to complete the setting of wheel width scale 10. Figure 2 Examples of wheel width settings of 170mm, 185mm, and 238mm are provided for reference.

[0014] The second step is to determine the wheel track and fix the sight. Park the vehicle in a safe location, referring to... Figure 4Draw the tracks of the left and right wheels. To simplify the operation, you can also use the roadside or any available ground markings. Place the sight above the driver's seat near the windshield. After the driver has positioned themselves, lean their head against the seat and look straight ahead. Use both eyes to visually adjust base 1 so that the center pointer is as close to the center as possible (you can also use markers to assist in observation). Then, fix the sight in place using adhesive or other methods. If centering the pointer with one eye, to eliminate binocular parallax, you need to connect the results obtained by each eye separately, take the midpoint, and then fix the sight.

[0015] The third step is to precisely adjust the sights. The driver keeps their head in the same position and refers to... Figure 5 Use your left eye to calibrate the left eye's left vernier 6 and the left eye's right vernier 8, for reference. Figure 6 Calibrate the left wheel vernier 7 and right wheel vernier 9 using your right eye, and fine-tune the aiming of the verniers according to the actual situation to ensure that the result of aiming at the top of each vernier head can accurately fall on the corresponding left and right wheel track strips on the road surface. Finally, regardless of whether aiming is done with the left or right eye, a consistent track position can be obtained, thus completing the fine-tuning.

[0016] 3. How to use the present invention.

[0017] After installation and debugging, for usage environments where high precision is not required: such as Figure 7 As shown, the driver can use their peripheral vision to aim at the gap between vernier 6 and vernier 7 to determine the approximate position of the left wheel track on the ground, and aim at the gap between vernier 8 and vernier 9 to determine the approximate position of the right wheel track on the ground.

[0018] For applications requiring high precision: refer to Figure 5 Use your left eye, or refer to Figure 6 Aiming with your right eye takes only one second and allows for quick, convenient, and accurate prediction without hindering driving. Aiming with either your left or right eye will produce identical wheel tracks. For common scenarios such as navigating narrow roads, only the outer edge of the wheel track needs to be focused on; tire width is unnecessary. For special scenarios like obstacle avoidance, both the inner and outer edges of the wheel track sometimes need to be monitored.

[0019] Other uses include: observing the center pointer position of the aiming device base 1 to center the vehicle in the lane; using the geometric relationship between the track strip and the aiming device to help straighten the vehicle; and using the aiming device to aim at the corresponding point on the ground to determine the position of the vehicle's front and the distance between vehicles, etc.

[0020] 4. The basic working principle of this invention.

[0021] The eye is the most sophisticated optical instrument, and any device that helps drivers make full use of their eyes while driving must be the most efficient and precise assistive tool. Firstly, such as... Figure 8 As shown, taking the inventor's own measured data as an example, the naked eye, the sight, and the wheel trajectory on the ground form a straight line, and their overall geometric structure reflects the relative positions of the three, which is the basis for the driver to observe the wheel trajectory. Second, as Figure 9 As shown, it is essential to eliminate the parallax caused by interpupillary distance, which is crucial for ensuring high-precision aiming and recognition. The method is as follows: Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown, four verniers are needed for precise aiming. Finally, the width of the vernier head needs to match the width of the wheel to ensure that it matches the width of the actual tire track on the road surface, thus ensuring that the track is realistic and effective.

[0022] 5. Brief error analysis of the present invention.

[0023] After debugging and calibration, some discrepancies arose between the head (visually) position and the initial debugging position during use. Since the naked eye, the sight, and the ground wheel track exist in three-dimensional space, any change in the head position will cause changes in both the horizontal and vertical directions of the ground wheel track. At this point, we need to focus on analyzing the primary causes of these errors based on the actual application. For example... Figure 10 As shown, for the vertical movement of the head, the change in the wheel trajectory is mainly a change in longitudinal distance, with little lateral deviation, and overall has little impact on the wheel trajectory band. Figure 11 As shown, for the left and right movement of the head, the longitudinal deviation of the wheel trajectory is negligible, but the lateral deviation is significant, which is the error we need to focus on analyzing below.

[0024] Depend on Figure 11 Geometric positional relationships are obtained Figure 12 ,inherit Figure 8 Dimensions (head distance from sight 0.89m, sight distance from predicted wheel track position on the ground 7.3m) to Figure 12 According to the principle of triangular scissor difference, the impact of head position deviation is amplified by approximately 7.3 / 0.89 = 8.2 times. During precise aiming, the driver needs to return to the initial head position as much as possible. The error in each head repositioning is approximately 0.5~2cm, varying from person to person. Converted to wheel trajectory aiming error, amplified 8.2 times, this is approximately 4.1~16.5cm. Drivers with poor spatial awareness can use headrests, adhesive markers, etc., for assistance. The inventors conducted random tests using ground markings and found that the trajectory aiming error is easily controlled within 10cm.

[0025] From a practical application perspective, even an error of 16.5cm is sufficient to meet the needs of most narrow road scenarios. For extremely special applications, such as stunt driving, a reset calibration pointer can be added to the vernier, utilizing the principle of multi-point alignment to achieve extremely high precision control over the driver's head repositioning.

[0026] 6. The beneficial effects of the present invention.

[0027] It can be simply summarized as "high-precision aiming and sufficient prediction time," specifically: suitable for narrow roads, narrow-limited roads, passing assistance, and emergency avoidance, such as accurate prediction of position and space when overtaking or passing, selection of avoidance routes in emergency situations such as sudden collision hazards or traffic accidents, passing oncoming vehicles in congested urban areas, residential areas, and rural roads, and passing through narrow gaps; suitable for road obstacle avoidance, such as emergency obstacle avoidance when encountering scattered objects while driving at high speed on highways, route selection on unpaved roads, off-road, and complex rural road conditions, and obstacle avoidance and detour around non-motorized vehicles, pedestrians, scattered goods, potholes, mud, sand, stones, and water accumulation; also applicable to lane centering, parking calibration, vehicle front correction, suspended track stunts, parade formation control, etc.

[0028] In summary, this invention features accurate positioning, high timeliness, convenient installation, flexible adjustment, wide application, and low cost, making it highly valuable for use and promotion. It can be widely applied to various road conditions, including narrow road passage, oncoming traffic prediction, emergency avoidance, and stunt driving. The rapid improvement of drivers' skills objectively helps traffic management departments improve road efficiency and reduce various traffic accidents, from major collisions to minor scrapes, making it a powerful tool for cost reduction and efficiency improvement.

[0029] Finally, it should be noted that the above description of the disclosed embodiments enables those skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore, the present invention is not to be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein. Attached Figure Description

[0030] This instruction manual contains 12 attached figures:

[0031] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the wheel trajectory aimer structure;

[0032] Figure 2 This is a magnified view of the left pupil distance scale.

[0033] Figure 3A diagram illustrating the folding, concealment, or cutting of the wheel width gauge;

[0034] Figure 4 This is a panoramic schematic diagram (top view).

[0035] Figure 5 A diagram illustrating fine-tuning and calibration of the left eye (i.e., a diagram illustrating aiming with the left eye);

[0036] Figure 6 This is a diagram illustrating the fine-tuning and calibration of the right eye (i.e., a diagram illustrating right eye aiming).

[0037] Figure 7 Diagram of aiming through the notch (both eyes);

[0038] Figure 8 This is a diagram illustrating the positional relationships;

[0039] Figure 9 This is a diagram illustrating interpupillary distance parallax.

[0040] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of error analysis (head moving up and down);

[0041] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of error analysis (head moving left and right);

[0042] Figure 12 This is a diagram illustrating the error calculation (head moving left and right).

[0043] Attached diagram labels: 1 for base, 2 for base slide rail groove, 3 for vehicle width scale, 4 for left pupil distance scale, 5 for right pupil distance scale, 6 for left wheel cursor in left eye, 7 for left wheel cursor in right eye, 8 for right wheel cursor in left eye, 9 for right wheel cursor in right eye, and 10 for wheel width scale.

Claims

1. A wheel trajectory aiming device for assisted driving, characterized in that, include: Base (1), base slide rail (2), vehicle width scale (3), left pupil distance scale (4), right pupil distance scale (5), left eye left wheel vernier (6), right eye left wheel vernier (7), left eye right wheel vernier (8), right eye right wheel vernier (9), wheel width scale (10); the base (1) is used to fix the sight above the dashboard in front of the cab, the base slide rail (2) is used to connect the left pupil distance scale (4) and the right pupil distance scale (5), the vehicle width scale (10) below the base slide rail (2) is used to match the width of different vehicle models; the left pupil distance scale (4) connects the left eye left wheel vernier (6) and the right wheel width scale (5). The left eye wheel vernier (7) and the right eye distance scale (5) are connected to the left eye right wheel vernier (8) and the right eye right wheel vernier (9). The four verniers (6, 7, 8, 9) are all printed with wheel width scales (10). The four verniers (6, 7, 8, 9) slide relative to the corresponding eye distance scales (4, 5) through slots or nesting. The left eye distance scale (4) and the right eye distance scale (5) can be adjusted along the base slide rail groove (2) so that the left eye aims through the left eye left wheel vernier (6) and the left eye right wheel vernier (8), and the right eye aims through the right eye left wheel vernier (7) and the right eye right wheel vernier (9) respectively, and the resulting wheel track is exactly the same.

2. The wheel trajectory aiming device for assisted driving according to claim 1, characterized in that: The left eye left wheel cursor (6), the right eye left wheel cursor (7), the left eye right wheel cursor (8), and the right eye right wheel cursor (9) are quadrilaterals that are narrow at the top and wide at the bottom.

3. A wheel trajectory aiming device for assisted driving according to claim 1, characterized in that: The width of the top of the head of the left eye left wheel cursor (6), the right eye left wheel cursor (7), the left eye right wheel cursor (8), and the right eye right wheel cursor (9) can be changed to match the width of the wheels of different models, so as to ensure that the width of the ground wheel track is consistent with the actual width of the road surface covered by the wheel.

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