Rainwater-proof triggering method and system based on intelligent B-column infrared sensor and vehicle
By analyzing multi-dimensional signal characteristics, the problem of false triggering of the B-pillar infrared sensor due to rain interference was solved, and a high-precision wave recognition and low-power intelligent B-pillar control system was realized.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202511758617.4
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-11-27
- Publication Date
- 2026-01-16
AI Technical Summary
In existing technologies, B-pillar infrared sensors are susceptible to interference from rain, which can lead to false triggering, affecting user experience and increasing system power consumption.
By analyzing multi-dimensional signal characteristics, including time interval, amplitude difference, waveform trend and energy ratio, rain interference and user waving actions are distinguished. Time window constraints and multi-feature fusion discrimination logic are used to ensure that only signals that meet the conditions trigger door unlocking or light response.
Significantly reduces false trigger rate, reduces system power consumption, enhances vehicle intelligence experience, and ensures high-precision recognition of hand gestures in complex environments.
Smart Images
Figure CN121341111A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This application relates to the field of automotive electronic control technology, and in particular to a rainwater-resistant triggering method, system, and vehicle based on an intelligent B-pillar infrared sensor. Background Technology
[0002] With the development of intelligent vehicles, features such as keyless entry and automatic welcome lights are becoming increasingly common. Some high-end models integrate infrared sensors in the B-pillar area to detect user gestures (such as waving) as they approach, enabling door unlocking or light activation. However, because the B-pillar is located on the outer side of the vehicle and is constantly exposed to complex outdoor environments, raindrops can easily be misinterpreted by the infrared sensors as waving gestures, leading to frequent false triggers of the system.
[0003] Existing technologies typically rely solely on a single signal threshold (e.g., an amplitude exceeding a certain value is considered a valid action) for judgment, lacking comprehensive analysis of signal timing, waveform characteristics, and energy distribution. For example, the infrared reflection signal generated by falling raindrops often exhibits characteristics of short duration, high peaks, and irregular fluctuations, while a user's waving gesture is characterized by moderate duration, a smooth rise followed by a fall, and concentrated energy distribution. However, existing solutions fail to effectively utilize these differences for logical differentiation.
[0004] In addition, frequent false triggers not only affect the user experience, but also cause the infrared sensor and related control circuits to work continuously, significantly increasing the vehicle's static current and shortening the battery's range. Summary of the Invention
[0005] To address the aforementioned issues, this application provides a rain-prevention triggering method and system based on an intelligent B-pillar infrared sensor. Through multi-dimensional signal feature analysis (including timing, amplitude difference, waveform trend, and energy ratio), it accurately distinguishes between rain interference and user hand-waving actions, thereby avoiding false triggering and reducing system power consumption.
[0006] The first technical solution adopted in this application is: providing a rainwater-triggered method based on an intelligent B-pillar infrared sensor, applied to a vehicle intelligent B-pillar control system, including the following steps:
[0007] In response to the infrared sensor detecting an approaching object, the signal recognition process is initiated.
[0008] Determine whether the corresponding departure event was detected within the preset time window;
[0009] If the departure event is detected, the time interval between the approach event and the departure event is calculated, and it is determined whether the time interval is less than or equal to a first preset threshold.
[0010] If the time interval meets the first preset threshold, a difference between infrared signal amplitudes corresponding to the approaching event and the leaving event is calculated, and it is determined whether the amplitude difference is within a second preset threshold range;
[0011] If the amplitude difference meets the second preset threshold range, a complete infrared signal sequence between the approaching event and the leaving event is obtained, and it is determined whether the infrared signal sequence has a trend of first rising and then falling;
[0012] If the trend of first rising and then falling exists, a ratio of a maximum amplitude in the infrared signal sequence to a sum of amplitudes of all sampling points in the infrared signal sequence is calculated, and it is determined whether the ratio is greater than or equal to a third preset threshold;
[0013] If the ratio meets the third preset threshold, the signal is determined to be a hand waving operation signal, and a trigger response of a vehicle door unlocking or a welcome light is triggered; otherwise, it is determined to be a non-hand waving signal, and no trigger action is performed.
[0014] In an optional embodiment, the step of determining whether the infrared signal sequence has the trend of first rising and then falling includes:
[0015] determining a peak position in the infrared signal sequence, the peak position being a sampling point corresponding to a local maximum;
[0016] determining whether at least two consecutive sampling points before the peak position have a monotone increasing trend;
[0017] determining whether at least two consecutive sampling points after the peak position have a monotone decreasing trend;
[0018] If the monotone increasing trend and the monotone decreasing trend are both met, it is determined that the trend of first rising and then falling exists.
[0019] In an optional embodiment, in the signal identification process, if the condition of any determination step is not met, the subsequent determination process is terminated, the current signal is determined to be a non-hand waving signal, and any trigger response is prohibited from being performed.
[0020] In an optional embodiment, the infrared sensor is installed outside a B-pillar of a vehicle to detect a waving action of a user's hand in a B-pillar region, the first preset threshold is greater than 50 milliseconds and less than 500 milliseconds, the second preset threshold range is -300 to +300 infrared signal units, and the third preset threshold is 0.6 to 0.9.
[0021] The second technical solution adopted in this application is: a rainwater-proof triggering system based on an intelligent B-pillar infrared sensor is provided, which is integrated into the vehicle's intelligent B-pillar control unit, including an infrared sensor, a memory, and a processor; the memory stores a computer program, and the processor executes the program to implement the method as described in any of the preceding claims.
[0022] In an optional embodiment, the system is communicatively connected to the vehicle's door lock control module or welcome light control module to send a trigger command when a hand-waving signal is detected.
[0023] In an optional embodiment, a power management module is also included; when the processor determines that the input signal is not a wave signal, the power management module controls the infrared sensor or related signal processing circuit to enter a low-power state to reduce the overall power consumption of the system.
[0024] In an optional embodiment, the infrared sensor is a dual-channel or single-channel reflective infrared sensor with a sampling frequency of not less than 50Hz, used to collect the infrared signal intensity sequence during the approach and departure process in real time.
[0025] In an optional embodiment, the processor is further configured to filter the infrared signal sequence to eliminate ambient light interference or high-frequency noise and improve signal recognition accuracy.
[0026] The third technical solution adopted in this application is: a vehicle is provided, including a rainwater triggering system based on an intelligent B-pillar infrared sensor as described in any of the preceding claims.
[0027] Due to the adoption of the above technical solution, this application has at least one of the following beneficial effects compared with the prior art:
[0028] 1. Through multi-dimensional signal feature fusion analysis, it effectively distinguishes between rain interference and real hand waving actions, significantly reducing false triggering rate and system power consumption, and improving the vehicle's intelligent experience.
[0029] 2. Non-wave signals do not trigger subsequent actions and can be linked with the power management module to put the sensor into sleep mode, significantly reducing static current.
[0030] 3. Based on the timing of the hand gesture and signal characteristics, a threshold criterion is set to ensure that effective operations can still be identified with high accuracy under complex lighting and weather conditions, thus improving the hand gesture recognition accuracy. Attached Figure Description
[0031] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.
[0032] in:
[0033] Figure 1 A flowchart illustrating a rain-proof triggering method based on an intelligent B-pillar infrared sensor provided in an embodiment of this application;
[0034] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a hand gesture signal provided in an embodiment of this application;
[0035] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a rainwater signal provided in an embodiment of this application;
[0036] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the framework of a rainproof triggering system based on an intelligent B-pillar infrared sensor, provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation
[0037] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only for explaining this application and not for limiting it. Furthermore, it should be noted that, for ease of description, only the parts related to this application are shown in the accompanying drawings, not all structures. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this application without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.
[0038] The terms "first," "second," etc., used in this application are used to distinguish different objects, not to describe a specific order. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but may optionally include steps or units not listed, or may optionally include other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products, or apparatuses.
[0039] In this document, the term "embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of this application. The appearance of this phrase in various places throughout the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it a separate or alternative embodiment mutually exclusive with other embodiments. It will be explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments.
[0040] Existing systems typically employ simple logic that triggers when the infrared signal amplitude exceeds a fixed threshold. However, when raindrops fall on or near the surface of an infrared sensor, they generate instantaneous high-intensity reflected signals due to reflection or refraction. These signals may have amplitudes far exceeding the threshold, causing the system to misinterpret them as a user waving gesture, resulting in accidental door opening or headlight activation. Rain signals are typically characterized by extremely short duration, no clear departure event, sharp waveforms, and concentrated energy at a single point. In contrast, a genuine waving gesture exhibits a reasonable approach-to-departure time interval, a smooth rise-and-fall waveform trend, and a relatively uniform energy distribution. Existing technologies fail to model and utilize these key differences, leading to a high false trigger rate in complex environments such as rainy days. Therefore, this application introduces a time window constraint to eliminate instantaneous interference and combines amplitude difference, waveform trend, and energy proportion for multi-feature fusion discrimination to establish a safe logic that triggers only when all conditions are met, thus preventing false triggering.
[0041] like Figure 1 As shown, Figure 1 This is a flowchart illustrating a rain-proof triggering method based on an intelligent B-pillar infrared sensor, provided in one embodiment of this application. Applied to a vehicle intelligent B-pillar control system, it includes the following steps:
[0042] In response to the infrared sensor detecting an approaching object, the signal recognition process is initiated.
[0043] Determine whether the corresponding departure event was detected within the preset time window;
[0044] If a departure event is detected, the time interval between the approach event and the departure event is calculated, and it is determined whether the time interval is less than or equal to a first preset threshold.
[0045] If the time interval meets the first preset threshold, the difference in infrared signal amplitude corresponding to the approach event and the departure event is calculated, and it is determined whether the amplitude difference is within the range of the second preset threshold.
[0046] If the amplitude difference meets the second preset threshold range, then obtain the complete infrared signal sequence between the approach event and the departure event, and determine whether the infrared signal sequence has a trend of first rising and then falling.
[0047] If there is a trend of first rising and then falling, calculate the ratio of the maximum amplitude value in the infrared signal sequence to the sum of the amplitude values of all sampling points in the infrared signal sequence, and determine whether the ratio is greater than or equal to the third preset threshold.
[0048] If the ratio meets the third preset threshold, the signal is determined to be a hand-waving operation signal, and the door is unlocked or the welcome light is activated; otherwise, it is determined to be a non-hand-waving signal, and no triggering action is performed.
[0049] In this embodiment, an infrared sensor is installed on the outside of the vehicle's B-pillar to detect the user's hand waving motion in the B-pillar area. The first preset threshold is greater than 50 milliseconds and less than 500 milliseconds, the second preset threshold ranges from -300 to +300 infrared signal units, and the third preset threshold is 0.6 to 0.9.
[0050] When a user stands next to the car and quickly waves their hand near the B-pillar, the infrared sensor first detects a significant increase in the intensity of the reflected signal, exceeding the preset proximity threshold. The system then initiates the signal recognition process. Subsequently, within less than 500 milliseconds, the sensor detects that the signal has dropped back to a lower level, forming a departure event. The system records the entire process from approach to departure as taking 300 milliseconds, which is within the set valid gesture time range, thus proceeding to the next step of judgment.
[0051] Next, the system read the infrared signal amplitude at the approach and departure times, which were 1400 units and 1350 units respectively, a difference of 50 units, within the allowable amplitude difference range, indicating that the signal change was stable and not due to sudden interference. Subsequently, the system retrieved all infrared signal data collected within these 300 milliseconds and found that the signal strength first gradually increased, reached a peak, and then gradually weakened, showing a clear "rise and fall" trend, consistent with the movement trajectory of the hand from far to near and then away.
[0052] Based on this, the system calculates the ratio of the largest amplitude value in the signal sequence to the sum of the amplitude values of all sampling points, and the result is 0.65. Since this ratio is greater than the set third preset threshold, the system finally determines that this action is a valid hand gesture, and then triggers the vehicle to unlock the door and turn on the welcome lights.
[0053] Conversely, if it rains, a raindrop falling near the sensor will generate a momentary high-intensity reflected signal (e.g., 16,000 units), but it will disappear quickly and not form a valid departure event, or the time interval will be only 20 milliseconds, which will not pass the first time threshold. Even if a false "approach-departure" phenomenon is accidentally formed, if the amplitude difference is extremely large, the waveform has no upward or downward trend, or the energy is highly concentrated at a single point, resulting in an abnormally high or low ratio, it will be excluded in the subsequent judgment process, thereby avoiding false triggering.
[0054] The steps to determine whether an infrared signal sequence exhibits a trend of first rising and then falling include:
[0055] Determine the peak positions in the infrared signal sequence; the peak positions are the sampling points corresponding to the local maximum values.
[0056] Determine whether at least two consecutive sampling points before the peak position show a monotonically increasing trend;
[0057] Determine whether at least two consecutive sampling points following the peak position show a monotonically decreasing trend;
[0058] If both the aforementioned monotonically increasing and monotonically decreasing trends are satisfied, then it is determined that there is a trend of first rising and then falling.
[0059] like Figure 2 , 3 As shown, Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a hand gesture signal provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a rainwater signal provided in an embodiment of this application.
[0060] In the vehicle's intelligent B-pillar system, when the infrared sensor detects a potential gesture, the system acquires a sequence of infrared signals from the approach event to the departure event, for example, data containing 10 consecutive sampling points: [800, 1100, 1500, 2100, 2600, 3000, 2700, 2200, 1600, 900].
[0061] The system first traverses the sequence to find local maxima. In this example, the points before and after the 6th sampling point (with a value of 3000) are all smaller than it, and therefore it is identified as the peak position.
[0062] Next, the system checks the sampling points before the peak position: the 4th point (2100), the 5th point (2600), and the 6th point (3000) form three consecutive points, and the values increase sequentially (2100→2600→3000), which satisfies the condition that at least two consecutive sampling points show a monotonically increasing trend.
[0063] Meanwhile, the system checks the sampling points after the peak position: the 6th point (3000), the 7th point (2700), and the 8th point (2200) form a continuous decreasing sequence (3000→2700→2200), which satisfies the requirement that at least two consecutive sampling points show a monotonically decreasing trend.
[0064] Since there is a monotonic change trend that meets the requirements before and after the spike, the system determines that the infrared signal sequence has the typical waving waveform characteristics of rising first and then falling, thus supporting its subsequent recognition as a valid gesture.
[0065] In contrast, if the signal is affected by rain, for example, the sequence is [600,620,610,15000,500,480,470]. Although there is an extremely high peak, the first two points (610→15000) rise, but there is only one rising interval (less than two consecutive increasing points). Although there is a decline after the peak, the overall transition is not smooth. More importantly, there is no stable increasing process before the peak, which does not conform to the physical laws of human body waving. Therefore, this trend judgment will not pass, effectively eliminating misjudgment.
[0066] In the signal recognition process, if the condition of any judgment step is not met, the subsequent judgment process is terminated, and the current signal is determined to be a non-wave signal, prohibiting the execution of any trigger response.
[0067] This application also provides a rainproof triggering system based on an intelligent B-pillar infrared sensor, integrated into the vehicle's intelligent B-pillar control unit, such as... Figure 4 As shown, Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the framework of a rainproof triggering system based on an intelligent B-pillar infrared sensor provided in an embodiment of this application, including an infrared sensor, a memory, and a processor; when the processor executes the program, it implements the rainproof triggering method based on the intelligent B-pillar infrared sensor as described in the above embodiment.
[0068] In this embodiment, the processor may also be referred to as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The processor may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. The processor may also be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.
[0069] The system communicates with the vehicle's door lock control module or welcome light control module to send trigger commands when a hand gesture signal is detected, such as requesting the unlocking of the right front door or activating the right-side welcome light. Upon receiving the command, the body domain controller immediately drives the door lock motor to perform the unlocking action, while simultaneously illuminating the welcome light effects projected below the B-pillar and onto the ground, achieving seamless entry.
[0070] The rainproof triggering system based on the intelligent B-pillar infrared sensor also includes a power management module. When the processor determines that the input signal is not a hand gesture, the power management module controls the infrared sensor or related signal processing circuit to enter a low-power state to reduce the overall power consumption of the system. That is, when the processor determines that it is not a hand gesture, it immediately sends a command to the power management module integrated in the B-pillar control unit, requesting that the infrared sensor's transmitter be turned off and the power supply to the analog-to-digital converter and signal conditioning circuit be suspended, so that the entire sensing front end enters a deep low-power state.
[0071] In this state, the system retains only the minimum timed wake-up function (such as being triggered by a low-power real-time clock) to reduce circuit current consumption until the next preset wake-up cycle arrives or the vehicle is awakened by receiving a remote key signal, at which point the infrared system resumes full-power operation.
[0072] The infrared sensor is a dual-channel or single-channel reflective infrared sensor with a sampling frequency of no less than 50Hz, used to acquire the infrared signal intensity sequence during the approach and departure process in real time; a sampling frequency of no less than 50Hz is sufficient to capture the key dynamic changes in human waving gestures. If the sampling frequency is too low, peak values may be missed or trends may be misjudged, leading to recognition failure.
[0073] The processor is also configured to filter the infrared signal sequence to eliminate ambient light interference or high-frequency noise, improving signal recognition accuracy. Vehicle B-pillars are constantly exposed to complex lighting environments such as sunlight, headlights, and streetlights, causing ambient light to superimpose on the sensor's received signal, resulting in baseline drift or false rise. Through low-pass or band-pass filtering, the processor can filter out slowly changing ambient light background components, retaining only the fast dynamic signals caused by user gestures, significantly improving system reliability in scenarios such as strong light, backlight, or dusk.
[0074] This application also provides a vehicle including a rain-proof triggering system based on an intelligent B-pillar infrared sensor as described in the above embodiment.
[0075] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed methods and devices can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For instance, the division of modules or units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed.
[0076] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment, depending on actual needs.
[0077] Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. The integrated unit can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional unit.
[0078] The above description is merely an embodiment of this application and does not limit the patent scope of this application. Any equivalent structural or procedural transformations made using the content of this application's specification and drawings, or direct or indirect applications in other related technical fields, are similarly included within the patent protection scope of this application.
Claims
1. A rainwater prevention triggering method based on an intelligent B-pillar infrared sensor, applied to a vehicle intelligent B-pillar control system, characterized in that, The method comprises the following steps: starting a signal identification process in response to the infrared sensor detecting an object approaching event; determining whether a corresponding leaving event is detected within a preset time window; if the leaving event is detected, calculating a time interval between the approaching event and the leaving event, and determining whether the time interval is less than or equal to a first preset threshold; if the time interval meets the first preset threshold, calculating a difference between infrared signal amplitudes corresponding to the approaching event and the leaving event, and determining whether the amplitude difference is within a second preset threshold range; if the amplitude difference meets the second preset threshold range, obtaining a complete infrared signal sequence between the approaching event and the leaving event, and determining whether the infrared signal sequence has a trend of first rising and then falling; if the trend of first rising and then falling exists, calculating a ratio of a maximum amplitude in the infrared signal sequence to a sum of amplitudes of all sampling points in the infrared signal sequence, and determining whether the ratio is greater than or equal to a third preset threshold; if the ratio meets the third preset threshold, determining that the signal is a hand waving operation signal, and triggering a vehicle door unlocking or a welcome light response; otherwise, determining that it is a non-hand waving signal, and not performing a triggering action.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The step of determining whether the infrared signal sequence has a trend of first rising and then falling comprises: determining a spike position in the infrared signal sequence, the spike position being a sampling point corresponding to a local maximum value; determining whether at least two consecutive sampling points before the spike position have a monotonically increasing trend; determining whether at least two consecutive sampling points after the spike position have a monotonically decreasing trend; if both the monotonically increasing trend and the monotonically decreasing trend are met, it is determined that the trend of first rising and then falling exists.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein, In the signal identification process, if the conditions of any determination step are not met, the subsequent determination process is terminated, it is determined that the current signal is a non-hand waving signal, and any triggering response is prohibited.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein, The infrared sensor is installed on the outside of a B-pillar of a vehicle, is used to detect a hand waving action of a user's hand in a B-pillar area, the first preset threshold is greater than 50 milliseconds and less than 500 milliseconds, the second preset threshold range is -300 to +300 infrared signal units, and the third preset threshold is 0.6 to 0.
9.
5. A rain water triggering system based on intelligent B-pillar infrared sensor integrated in a vehicle intelligent B-pillar control unit characterized by, The system comprises an infrared sensor, a memory and a processor; the memory stores a computer program, and the processor implements the method according to any one of claims 1 to 4 when executing the program.
6. The system of claim 5, wherein, The system is in communication connection with a vehicle door lock control module or a welcome light control module of the vehicle, and is used to send a triggering instruction when it is determined that the signal is a hand waving signal.
7. The system of claim 5, wherein, The system further comprises a power management module; when the processor determines that the input signal is a non-hand waving signal, the power management module controls the infrared sensor or a related signal processing circuit to enter a low-power consumption state, so as to reduce the overall power consumption of the system.
8. The system of claim 5, wherein, The infrared sensor is a double-channel or single-channel reflective infrared sensor, and a sampling frequency is not less than 50 Hz, which is used to collect infrared signal intensity sequences in real time during the approaching and leaving processes.
9. The system of claim 5, wherein, The processor is further configured to filter the infrared signal sequence to eliminate ambient light interference or high-frequency noise, and improve signal recognition accuracy.
10. A vehicle characterized by comprising: The rainwater triggering prevention system based on the intelligent B column infrared sensor comprises the rainwater triggering prevention system based on the intelligent B column infrared sensor according to any one of claims 5 to 9.