Method for operating vehicle interior monitoring device, vehicle interior monitoring device, and vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for operating a vehicle interior monitoring device, the vehicle interior monitoring device being designed to detect a movement in the interior of a vehicle (1) and to trigger a vehicle alarm as a function of the detected movement, the vehicle (1) measuring an acceleration of a vehicle structure by means of at least one acceleration sensor (2), the measured acceleration values are taken into account for operating the vehicle interior monitoring device, and wherein the vehicle (1) determines a parking state and if a parked state is determined, the vehicle interior monitoring device is activated. The vehicle interior monitoring device according to the invention is characterized in that the vehicle (1) will prevent the output of a vehicle alarm as a result of the detection of a movement in the interior if the vehicle (1) detects a movement in the interior and at the same time detects an acceleration excitation of the vehicle structure.

Description

Field of the Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for operating an in-vehicle monitoring device as more particularly defined in the preamble of claim 1, an in-vehicle monitoring device as more particularly defined in the preamble of claim 7, and a vehicle having such an in-vehicle monitoring device. Background Art

[0002] In-vehicle monitoring devices are known for improving comfort and safety. Here, the presence and movement of objects in the vehicle interior can be detected by means of a sensor system. This can be used to output an alarm if a living being, such as a child or a pet, is left in the vehicle. Similarly, an anti-theft alarm system can be formed therefrom, which outputs an alarm when an object movement is recognized in the vehicle interior. For example, a sound alarm can be output by means of the vehicle's horn. A visual alarm can be output by activating the vehicle's headlights, reversing lights, and / or turn signals.

[0003] False alarms may occur during this process. For example, corresponding vehicle movements may be excited from the outside, such that an unsecured object in the vehicle, such as a water bottle placed on the rear seat, moves. Subsequently, the movement of the unsecured object is recognized and the alarm is triggered accordingly. Therefore, methods and measures are needed to reduce or completely prevent the occurrence of such false alarms.

[0004] For example, a vehicle interior safety system and its operating method are known from DE 10 2021 102 963 A1. The vehicle described therein includes an acceleration sensor by means of which the movement state of the vehicle can be determined. If the vehicle recognizes that it is driving, the corresponding in-vehicle monitoring remains deactivated. Conversely, if the vehicle recognizes that it is parked, the in-vehicle monitoring can be automatically activated. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide an improved method for operating an in-vehicle / occupant compartment monitoring device by means of which the occurrence of false alarms can be reduced or completely prevented.

[0006] According to the present invention, this object is achieved by a method for operating / operating an in-vehicle monitoring device having the features of claim 1. Advantageous designs and improvements, as well as the corresponding in-vehicle monitoring device and a vehicle having such an in-vehicle monitoring device, follow from its dependent claims.

[0007] A method for operating an in-vehicle monitoring device for vehicles of the same type, wherein the in-vehicle monitoring device is arranged to detect movements in the interior of the vehicle / passenger compartment and to trigger a vehicle alarm based on the detected movements, wherein the vehicle measures the acceleration of the vehicle structure by means of at least one acceleration sensor and takes into account the measured acceleration values for operating the in-vehicle monitoring device, and wherein the vehicle determines a parked state and, if the parked state has been determined, activates the in-vehicle monitoring device. According to the invention, the method for operating the in-vehicle monitoring device is improved such that, when a movement is detected inside the vehicle while an acceleration excitation of the vehicle structure is recognized, the output of the vehicle alarm due to the movement detected inside is prevented.

[0008] By means of the method according to the invention, it is possible to prevent the output of false alarms in a particularly simple and reliable manner. For this purpose, the vehicle checks whether the vehicle movement is externally excited such that unsecured objects in the interior of the vehicle may move accordingly. If a movement in the interior of the vehicle is recognized and the movement can be attributed to an acceleration excitation of the vehicle structure, the vehicle does not output a vehicle alarm.

[0009] As a vehicle alarm, in addition to activating the vehicle horn or outputting a signal tone via an external vehicle loudspeaker and activating the lighting devices of the vehicle, such as the headlamps, reversing lamps or turn signals, it is also possible to wirelessly send an alarm message. The alarm message can be sent, for example, via a wireless communication network indirectly via the Internet to a central computing device, such as a cloud server. The vehicle owner can use a mobile terminal device, such as a smartphone, which is also connected to the central computing device via a suitable application. In this way, the alarm message output by the vehicle can be forwarded by the central computing device to the mobile terminal device of the vehicle owner.

[0010] As the acceleration sensor, an acceleration sensor already installed in the vehicle can be used, such as the acceleration sensor used by ESP or airbag. In this way, the method according to the invention can be implemented in the vehicle in a particularly simple and cost-effective manner.

[0011] To carry out the method steps described, the vehicle uses various computing units, such as a central computing unit, a control unit of a vehicle subsystem, a telematics unit, etc. The computing units receive the sensor data of the sensors and exchange information with each other via a data bus.

[0012] Thereby, the vehicle is able to determine the parked state. For this purpose, the vehicle or the corresponding computing unit can monitor the ignition state of the vehicle drive, query the steering wheel lock state, query the door lock state and / or detect the vehicle speed or the vehicle acceleration value. In this way, for example, when the vehicle stops, the on-board electronics switches to standby and the doors are locked, the computing unit of the vehicle will determine the parked state.

[0013] If motion is detected inside the vehicle while an acceleration excitation occurs, the vehicle alarm is suppressed. In this context, "while" means that the acceleration excitation and the motion detected inside the vehicle occur simultaneously, or the acceleration excitation of the vehicle structure occurs with a certain time difference before the motion detected inside the vehicle. This time difference is relatively small and is, for example, in the order of seconds or milliseconds. The allowable value of the time difference can be determined by the vehicle manufacturer.

[0014] In an advantageous refinement of this method, it is provided that the vehicle measures translational accelerations along the longitudinal axis, transverse axis, and / or vertical axis of the vehicle and / or rotational accelerations about the longitudinal axis, transverse axis, and / or vertical axis of the vehicle. Thereby, the vehicle can accurately track its motion state in all spatial directions. In this way, a particularly comprehensive evaluation of the acceleration excitation of the vehicle structure can be carried out. Here, dedicated acceleration sensors can be designed separately for different spatial directions and rotational directions.

[0015] According to another advantageous design of this method, the vehicle compares the measured acceleration values with predefined acceleration values, and the vehicle alarm is suppressed only if the measured acceleration value is greater than the acceleration limit value. In other words, if the vehicle is only slightly accelerating relatively speaking, yet motion is detected inside the vehicle, the vehicle alarm may still be output subsequently. In this way, false suppression of the vehicle alarm can be avoided. The following example illustrates this: The vehicle is parked beside a busy road. There is a child on the rear seat of the vehicle. Now, a truck drives past the vehicle at high speed, causing the vehicle to be excited to roll about the longitudinal axis of the vehicle. The child is awakened by the passing of the truck and gives a start, so motion is detected inside. In this case, advantageously, the vehicle alarm will still be output.

[0016] Here, different acceleration limit values can be defined for translational or rotational accelerations along or around the longitudinal axis, transverse axis, and vertical axis of the vehicle.

[0017] Furthermore, in another advantageous design of the method according to the invention, it is provided that the vehicle detects the acceleration pattern by analyzing the change in the acceleration direction of the acceleration applied to the vehicle structure over time, detects the movement pattern by analyzing the change in the movement direction of the objects moving inside over time, compares the acceleration pattern with the movement pattern, and suppresses the vehicle alarm only when there is a correlation between the movement pattern and the acceleration pattern. In this way, the method according to the invention can be carried out more reliably. Thus, the vehicle, i.e., the computing unit, checks whether the movement detected inside the vehicle also matches the acceleration excitation of the vehicle structure. For example, if a truck drives past a parked vehicle, causing the vehicle to be excited to roll vibration around the vehicle longitudinal axis, typically, the objects inside will then move translationally along the vehicle transverse axis. Here, the excitation of the vehicle by the passing truck is equivalent to an excitation pulse. Therefore, the objects located in the vehicle must first be strongly actuated, and the movement decays slowly in the form of damped vibration in the absence of excitation. On the contrary, if another movement pattern is recognized inside, such as movement along the vehicle longitudinal direction, and the movement does not decay in the typical decay pattern, the vehicle alarm may still be output.

[0018] As another example, a vehicle transported on a ferry will be described. Due to the wave motion of the water, the ferry vibrates back and forth. These vibrations are correspondingly manifested as the acceleration of the vehicle structure and are transmitted to the unsecured objects located inside the vehicle, causing these objects to start moving next. The vehicle can then identify the acceleration pattern of the vehicle structure caused by the wave motion and compare it with the movement change of the unsecured objects inside the vehicle. For example, an unsecured water bottle on the rear seat of the vehicle will then continuously roll back and forth on the rear seat of the vehicle along the direction of the vehicle transverse axis at a specific frequency. Here, the vehicle particularly takes into account the phase shift between the acceleration excitation of the vehicle structure and the movement of the unsecured objects.

[0019] In other words, a specific movement pattern can be recognized inside the vehicle. Next, the detected acceleration pattern can be applied to the recognized movement pattern like a filter to filter out the influence of the excitation on the movement.

[0020] According to another advantageous design of the method, as long as the vehicle recognizes the acceleration excitation of the vehicle structure during the excitation period exceeding the specified buffer period, the vehicle will deactivate the vehicle interior monitoring device. Due to the vehicle excitation, the objects inside the vehicle are actuated, so the occupant recognition function based on movement detection becomes redundant. Advantageously, the corresponding sensing system can be deactivated in such cases to save energy. After the vehicle excitation stops, the vehicle interior monitoring device can then be automatically reactivated.

[0021] Furthermore, in another advantageous design of the method according to the present invention, it is provided that the vehicle interior monitoring device detects the breathing pattern of a living being inside the vehicle and classifies it as a movement. In this way, it is possible to distinguish between objects and living beings, and thus different vehicle alarms can be distinguished. For example, when the movement of an object is recognized, the vehicle alarm can be suppressed, while when the presence of a living being is recognized inside the vehicle, the vehicle alarm can be output. In order to recognize the breathing pattern, the rise and fall of the chest of the living being can be detected and analyzed. This rise and fall also follows a typical movement sequence.

[0022] According to the present invention, a vehicle interior monitoring device including at least one motion sensor is provided to perform the method described above. The vehicle interior monitoring device may have a dedicated computing unit, to which a corresponding motion sensor is connected. However, in order to form the vehicle interior monitoring device, the equipment that already exists in the vehicle can also be used. For this purpose, the program code with corresponding settings is implemented on the existing computing unit to perform the method described above.

[0023] Preferably, at least one motion sensor of the vehicle interior monitoring device is arranged to generate depth information using the Doppler principle, especially based on electromagnetic waves or sound waves. Therefore, as a motion sensor, the vehicle interior monitoring device can, for example, have a radar sensor or a radar sensor system and / or an ultrasonic sensor or an ultrasonic sensor system. In comparison, simple and cost-effective sensors are involved here, which further facilitates the implementation of the vehicle interior monitoring device in a simple and cost-effective manner in the vehicle.

[0024] However, generally, other sensor systems can also be considered to detect the movement inside the vehicle. The identification of living beings can be carried out particularly reliably with the help of a Wi-Fi antenna array. For this purpose, different Wi-Fi antennas are installed at different positions in the vehicle, which can spatially evaluate the radio signal strength of the Wi-Fi signal inside the vehicle. The Wi-Fi signal is affected by the movement of the vehicle occupants, so that even the heartbeat of a person can be recognized and the person can be spatially located. However, such sensor systems are complex, so they are difficult to implement and costly.

[0025] According to the present invention, the vehicle includes the aforementioned vehicle interior monitoring device. The vehicle can be any vehicle, such as a car, a truck, a van, a bus, etc. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0026] Other advantageous designs of the method for operating the vehicle interior monitoring device according to the present invention are also given by the embodiments described in more detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0027] Wherein:

[0028] Figure 1shows a schematic top view of a vehicle according to the invention on a ferry; and

[0029] Figure 2 shows a roll angle diagram and a position diagram, where the roll angle diagram shows Figure 1 the roll angle of the vehicle structure of the vehicle shown changing over time due to the wave motion of the ferry, and the position diagram shows a graph of the position of a water bottle rolling back and forth on the rear seat changing over time due to the rolling motion of the vehicle. Detailed Description

[0030] Figure 1 shows a vehicle 1 according to the invention being transported on a ferry 4 through a water body 5. Due to the wave motion of the water body 5, the vehicle 1 together with the ferry 4 performs a roll motion about the longitudinal axis x of the vehicle, as indicated by the arrows. Also shown are the transverse axis y and the vertical axis z of the vehicle 1.

[0031] The vehicle 1 according to the invention includes an in-vehicle monitoring device. The components of the in-vehicle monitoring device are a computing unit 6, a motion sensor 3 (which is used to monitor the interior of the vehicle and is arranged to detect motion inside the vehicle), and at least one acceleration sensor 2 of the vehicle 1. The computing unit 6 can measure the acceleration applied to the vehicle 1 by means of the at least one acceleration sensor 2.

[0032] The in-vehicle monitoring device is arranged to trigger the output of a vehicle alarm if motion is detected inside the vehicle 1 while the vehicle 1 is parked. Specifically, this may indicate that a living being has been left in the vehicle or that a theft has occurred. If the vehicle 1 is in motion, unsecured objects, such as a water bottle 8 placed on the rear seat 7 of the vehicle 1, may be actuated, and thus the applied acceleration can be measured by the acceleration sensor 2.

[0033] According to the invention, if motion is detected inside the vehicle 1 and at the same time an acceleration applied to the vehicle structure of the vehicle 1 is detected, the vehicle 1 or the computing unit 6 according to the invention will suppress the output of the vehicle alarm.

[0034] Here, the computing unit 6 can compare the observed motion pattern with the observed acceleration pattern, and then will only suppress the output of the vehicle alarm when there is a connection / correlation between the two. Figure 2 For this purpose, a roll angle diagram of the vehicle 1 about the longitudinal axis x over time t and a corresponding position diagram of the water bottle 8 are shown. Figure 2 The upper-middle diagram shows the roll angle Φ, and the lower diagram shows the position Y of the water bottle 8 in the direction of the transverse axis y of the vehicle on the rear seat 7. Also shown are the maximum swing amplitudes of the vehicle 1 in both directions due to the swaying, expressed as +Φ max and -Φ max .

[0035] The specific changes in the roll angle and position can be determined by the time integration of the measured acceleration or velocity variables. Similarly, the changes in acceleration and velocity can be determined by differentiating the successively measured position values in chronological order.

[0036] The roll angle diagram shows the roll motion of the vehicle 1 with the wave motion. Here, the roll angle is related to a sine wave.

[0037] The water bottle 8 follows this roll vibration, where as the roll angle increases, the rolling speed of the water bottle 8 increases, causing the water bottle to move faster and faster in the direction of the vehicle's transverse axis y, and then covering more distance within a shorter time window. This corresponds to the interval B1 in the figure.

[0038] Now the direction of motion is reversed and the vehicle 1 vibrates in the opposite direction. The interval B2 corresponds to the interval before passing through the zero point. That is, the water bottle 8 will continue to accelerate but more slowly.

[0039] In the interval B3, the ferry 4 and the vehicle 1 now vibrate in the other direction, causing the water bottle 8 to decelerate and then accelerate in the other direction as well. Due to inertia, the water bottle 8 may continue to roll. Additionally, if the water bottle 8 reaches the end of the rear seat 7 and abuts against the door, the water bottle may suddenly stop.

[0040] This Figure 2 The typical motion characteristics of the vehicle structure and the water bottle 8 shown in are recognized by the calculation unit 6, thereby recognizing the correlation between the acceleration of the vehicle 1 and the motion of the objects moving back and forth inside the vehicle. Therefore, no vehicle alarm is output.

Claims

1. A method for operating an in-vehicle monitoring device, wherein, The vehicle interior monitoring device is arranged to detect movement inside the vehicle (1) and trigger a vehicle alarm based on the detected movement, wherein the vehicle (1) measures the acceleration of the vehicle structure by means of at least one acceleration sensor (2) and takes into account the measured acceleration values to operate the vehicle interior monitoring device, and wherein the vehicle (1) determines the parked state and, if the parked state is determined, activates the vehicle interior monitoring device. Characterized in that if the vehicle (1) recognizes an acceleration excitation of the vehicle structure while detecting movement inside, the vehicle (1) prevents the vehicle alarm output due to the detected movement inside.

2. The method according to claim 1, Characterized in that the vehicle (1) measures translational acceleration and / or rotational acceleration in the direction along and / or around the vehicle longitudinal axis (x), vehicle transverse axis (y) and / or vehicle vertical axis (z).

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, Characterized in that the vehicle (1) compares the measured acceleration values with a predefined acceleration limit value and suppresses the vehicle alarm only if the measured acceleration value is greater than the acceleration limit value.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, Characterized in that the vehicle (1) detects the acceleration pattern by analyzing the change in the acceleration direction of the acceleration applied to the vehicle structure over time (t), detects the movement pattern by analyzing the change in the movement direction of the moving object inside over time (t), compares the acceleration pattern with the movement pattern, and suppresses the vehicle alarm only if there is a correlation between the movement pattern and the acceleration pattern.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, Characterized in that if the vehicle (1) recognizes an acceleration excitation of the vehicle structure within an excitation period exceeding a predefined buffer period, the vehicle (1) will deactivate the vehicle interior monitoring device.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, Characterized in that the vehicle interior monitoring device detects the breathing pattern of a living body inside and classifies it as movement.

7. A vehicle interior monitoring device comprising at least one motion sensor (3), Characterized in that means for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. The vehicle interior monitoring device according to claim 7, Characterized in that the at least one motion sensor (3) is arranged to generate depth information using the Doppler principle, in particular based on electromagnetic waves or sound waves.

9. A vehicle (1), Characterized in that the vehicle interior monitoring device according to claim 7 or 8.

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