Vehicle door lock active unlocking control method and system

Abstract

The invention provides a vehicle door lock active unlocking control method which comprises the following steps: when the vehicle speed is less than or equal to a first vehicle speed threshold value, if a radar monitors that an obstacle exists in front of a vehicle and the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle is less than or equal to a first distance, starting a capacitance-inductance sensor to monitor the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle; when the capacitive inductive sensor and the radar monitor that the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle is smaller than or equal to the second distance, the vehicle door lock is controlled to be unlocked, and the vehicle automatic locking function is closed; when the vehicle speed is larger than a first vehicle speed threshold value, if the radar monitors that an obstacle exists in front of the vehicle and the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle is smaller than or equal to a third distance, the capacitance-inductance sensor is started to monitor the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle until the capacitance-inductance sensor and the radar monitor that the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle is smaller than or equal to a fourth distance; and controlling the vehicle door lock to be unlocked and the vehicle automatic locking function to be closed. The vehicle door is unlocked before collision, and the situation that passengers are trapped is greatly avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of vehicle door lock technology, and specifically to a method and system for actively unlocking vehicle door locks. Background Technology

[0002] Traditional collision-based door unlocking mechanisms are passive and delayed because they rely on the fact that a collision has already occurred. Most modern vehicles only issue an unlock signal after the collision sensors detect it. This means there's an unavoidable electronic system delay (tens of milliseconds) between the collision and the door unlocking. During this delay, the vehicle may have already undergone severe structural deformation (such as door frame compression or pillar bending), causing the door lock mechanism to become physically jammed and unable to operate even after receiving the unlock command.

[0003] At the same time, the collision may damage the battery or cause a short circuit, paralyzing the entire power outage system, causing the electronic door lock to lose power, and the wiring from the controller to the door lock actuator may also be torn off during the collision, making it impossible to unlock smoothly. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to address the shortcomings of existing technologies by providing a method for actively unlocking vehicle door locks, comprising: When the vehicle speed is less than or equal to the first vehicle speed threshold, if the radar detects an obstacle in front of the vehicle and the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle is less than or equal to the first distance, the capacitive and inductive sensors are activated to monitor the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle. When both the capacitive and inductive sensors and the radar detect that the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle is less than or equal to the second distance, the vehicle door locks are unlocked and the automatic door locking function is turned off. When the vehicle speed is greater than the first vehicle speed threshold, if the radar detects an obstacle in front of the vehicle and the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle is less than or equal to the third distance, the capacitive and inductive sensors are activated to monitor the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle. When both the capacitive and inductive sensors and the radar detect that the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle is less than or equal to the fourth distance, the vehicle door locks are unlocked and the automatic door locking function is turned off. Among them, the first distance > the second distance, the third distance > the fourth distance, the first distance < the third distance, and the second distance < the fourth distance.

[0005] Furthermore, it also includes: When the vehicle door locks are unlocked, if no collision occurs, the vehicle door locks will relock if the vehicle speed is maintained at or above the second speed threshold within a preset time window and no obstacle is detected in front of the vehicle; if a collision occurs, the vehicle door locks will remain unlocked and the automatic door locking function will be turned off.

[0006] Furthermore, collision sensors are used to determine whether a collision has occurred.

[0007] Furthermore, the specific method for determining whether a vehicle has been involved in a collision using collision sensors is as follows: If the collision sensor signal is lost or the collision sensor sends a signal containing information that a collision has occurred, then it is determined that a collision has occurred; otherwise, it is determined that no collision has occurred.

[0008] Furthermore, when the vehicle speed is ≤ the first vehicle speed threshold, the radar for monitoring obstacles is an ultrasonic radar.

[0009] Furthermore, when the vehicle speed is greater than a first vehicle speed threshold, the radar used to monitor obstacles is a millimeter-wave radar.

[0010] Furthermore, if a collision occurs when neither the capacitive nor inductive sensors nor the radar detects an obstacle, the vehicle door locks will be unlocked.

[0011] Furthermore, the vehicle controller controls the unlocking and locking of the vehicle doors, as well as the activation and deactivation of the vehicle's automatic door locking function.

[0012] A vehicle door lock active unlocking control system, comprising: The first door lock unlocking module, when the vehicle speed is less than or equal to the first vehicle speed threshold, if the radar detects an obstacle in front of the vehicle and the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle is less than or equal to the first distance, then the capacitive and inductive sensors are activated to monitor the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle. When both the capacitive and inductive sensors and the radar detect that the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle is less than or equal to the second distance, the vehicle door lock is unlocked and the automatic door locking function is turned off. The second door lock unlocking module, when the vehicle speed is greater than the first vehicle speed threshold, if the radar detects an obstacle in front of the vehicle and the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle is less than or equal to the third distance, then the capacitive and inductive sensors are activated to monitor the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle. When both the capacitive and inductive sensors and the radar detect that the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle is less than or equal to the fourth distance, the vehicle door lock is unlocked and the automatic door locking function is turned off. Among them, the first distance > the second distance, the third distance > the fourth distance, the first distance < the third distance, and the second distance < the fourth distance.

[0013] A computer program product includes a computer program / instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement the above-described vehicle door lock active unlocking control method.

[0014] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: 1. Traditional solutions attempt to unlock only after a collision occurs. This invention, through multi-level collaboration of millimeter-wave radar, ultrasonic radar, and capacitive / inductive sensors, can accurately predict collision risks before a collision occurs and proactively unlock the door locks and disable the automatic locking function in advance. This effectively avoids risks such as electronic system delays caused by collisions, vehicle body deformation jamming the locking mechanism, and power outages / short circuits, opening a life-saving passage for occupants to escape quickly and for external rescue within the golden rescue time of an accident, greatly improving the vehicle's passive safety.

[0015] 2. By employing dual confirmation—radar warning and capacitive / inductive verification—the system minimizes false alarms from a single sensor (such as misidentification of manhole covers or road bumps), ensuring that the system only activates at the moment when a collision is truly unavoidable, thus balancing safety and user experience.

[0016] 3. Even in extreme collision situations that radar warnings and capacitor / inductor systems fail to predict (such as side impacts or rollovers), the doors can still be forcibly unlocked, providing ultimate safety assurance.

[0017] 4. After a collision has not occurred, the locking mechanism can automatically resume locking based on vehicle speed and road conditions, avoiding the interference with driving safety caused by premature unlocking and improving practicality. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a logic diagram of the method of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 2 This is a system block diagram of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0020] To make the technical problems, technical solutions, and beneficial effects to be solved by this application clearer, the following detailed description is provided in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of this application.

[0021] The components used in this invention include capacitive and inductive sensors, millimeter-wave radar, ultrasonic radar, collision sensors, and vehicle controllers. Among them: Capacitive-inductive sensor: A sensor used for detecting objects at extremely close range (typically a few centimeters to tens of centimeters). In this invention, it is used to detect objects about to collide with a vehicle. When the radar system detects an obstacle, it provides ultra-high precision gap measurement at the moment before a scrape or low-speed collision occurs, achieving high-precision detection.

[0022] Ultrasonic radar: a sensor that uses sound waves for distance measurement. Primarily used in low-speed scenarios (such as parking and following other vehicles in congested traffic), it can detect obstacles around a vehicle and provide accurate location and distance information. In this invention, it is used to detect obstacles ahead at low speeds and determine when to activate capacitive and inductive sensors.

[0023] Millimeter-wave radar: a sensor that uses electromagnetic waves in the millimeter-wave frequency band for detection. It can detect vehicles hundreds of meters away in high-speed environments (such as highways), has stable performance, can penetrate rain, fog, and dust, and has strong all-weather operation capabilities. In this invention, it is used to detect obstacles ahead at high speeds and determine the activation timing of capacitive and inductive sensors.

[0024] Collision sensor: A sensor used to detect whether a collision has occurred. In this invention, it is used to confirm whether a vehicle collision has occurred.

[0025] Vehicle controller: It is a high-performance computer that continuously reads massive amounts of data from all sensors through the vehicle network (such as CAN bus), then analyzes and processes this information according to preset algorithms and programs, and finally issues corresponding commands to control the actuators.

[0026] Example 1 Current vehicle door lock unlocking solutions primarily rely on signals emitted by collision sensors after a collision. This passive response mechanism has inherent flaws: First, there is an unavoidable electronic delay (typically tens of milliseconds) between the collision, sensor recognition, and the controller issuing the unlock command. In high-speed collision scenarios, this delay may allow the vehicle to suffer structural damage sufficient to deform the door frame or jam the locking mechanism, rendering the unlock command ineffective. Second, collisions can easily damage the vehicle's battery or cause short circuits or breaks in related wiring harnesses, disabling the entire electronic door lock system. Rescuers will still be unable to open the doors from the outside, delaying crucial rescue time.

[0027] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention provides a method for actively unlocking vehicle door locks, the core idea of ​​which is: Figure 1 As shown, by using multi-sensor fusion to predict collision risks, the system proactively unlocks the door locks and disables the automatic locking function before a collision occurs, thereby avoiding the risks of physical jamming and system power loss caused by the collision, and creating proactive conditions for occupant escape and external rescue. The specific steps are as follows: When the vehicle speed is less than or equal to the first vehicle speed threshold, if the radar detects an obstacle in front of the vehicle and the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle is less than or equal to the first distance, the capacitive and inductive sensors are activated to monitor the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle. When both the capacitive and inductive sensors and the radar detect that the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle is less than or equal to the second distance, the vehicle door locks are unlocked and the automatic door locking function is turned off. When the vehicle speed is greater than the first vehicle speed threshold, if the radar detects an obstacle in front of the vehicle and the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle is less than or equal to the third distance, the capacitive and inductive sensors are activated to monitor the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle. When both the capacitive and inductive sensors and the radar detect that the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle is less than or equal to the fourth distance, the vehicle door locks are unlocked and the automatic door locking function is turned off. Among them, the first distance > the second distance, the third distance > the fourth distance, the first distance < the third distance, and the second distance < the fourth distance.

[0028] When the vehicle door locks are unlocked, if no collision occurs, and the vehicle speed remains ≥ a second speed threshold within a preset time window and no obstacle is detected in front of the vehicle, the vehicle door locks will relock. If a collision occurs, the vehicle door locks will remain unlocked, and the automatic locking function will be disabled. Unlocking in this invention refers to the door lock actuator (such as the latch) moving from the locked position to the released position, allowing the door to be opened from the outside or inside the vehicle. Locking refers to the door lock actuator (such as the latch) moving from the released position to the locked position.

[0029] If vehicles only pass each other at close range or brake suddenly without a collision, the system can automatically restore the normal locking state, avoiding the unsafe situation of the vehicle having unlocked doors while driving, and eliminating the need for the driver to manually relock. Once a collision is confirmed, disabling the automatic locking function is crucial to prevent the vehicle from automatically locking again due to inertia or rollover after the collision, thus providing access for occupants to rescue themselves and for external assistance.

[0030] In a preferred embodiment, a collision sensor is used to determine whether a vehicle has been involved in a collision. The specific method for determining whether a collision has occurred using a collision sensor is as follows: if the collision sensor signal is lost or the collision sensor sends a signal containing collision information, then a collision is determined to have occurred; otherwise, no collision is determined to have occurred.

[0031] A collision may damage the sensor itself, break the wiring, or cause a power outage, resulting in signal loss. Treating signal loss as a collision is a fail-safe design principle; even if the system partially fails, it prioritizes keeping the doors unlocked to maximize occupant safety.

[0032] As a preferred embodiment, when the vehicle speed is ≤ a first vehicle speed threshold, the radar used to monitor obstacles is an ultrasonic radar. Ultrasonic radar has high detection accuracy in the low-speed, short-range range, making it very suitable for low-speed collision risk scenarios such as parking and traffic jams.

[0033] In a preferred embodiment, when the vehicle speed is greater than a first vehicle speed threshold, the radar used to monitor obstacles is a millimeter-wave radar. Millimeter-wave radar has a long detection range, strong anti-interference capability, and accurate speed measurement, making it the best choice for perceiving risks ahead in high-speed driving environments.

[0034] As a preferred implementation, if a collision occurs when neither the capacitive / inductive sensors nor the radar detects an obstacle, the vehicle door locks are unlocked. This design considers extreme scenarios where all sensors may fail, such as side collisions, rear-end collisions, rollovers, or other non-frontal collision scenarios, or when all other sensors malfunction. In such cases, this solution ensures that the doors are unlocked with the highest probability in any unforeseen collision, achieving a dual guarantee of active prediction and passive response.

[0035] The vehicle controller is the brain of the vehicle, comprehensively processing all information from radar, capacitive and inductive sensors, collision sensors, vehicle speed signals, and more. Its unified decision-making ensures consistent control logic, avoids communication delays or command conflicts between multiple controllers, and improves system response speed and reliability.

[0036] The following application scenarios are provided to better illustrate the invention: The first vehicle speed threshold is set to 30 km / h, the first distance is set to 2 meters, the second distance is set to 0.5 meters, the third distance is set to 80 meters, the fourth distance is set to 10 meters, the preset time window is set to 5 seconds, and the second vehicle speed threshold is set to 15 km / h.

[0037] A vehicle is traveling at 60 km / h (above the first speed threshold) on an expressway, following the vehicle in front. The vehicle's doors are locked, and the automatic door locking function is activated. The vehicle in front suddenly loses speed due to a malfunction and activates its hazard lights. The vehicle's onboard millimeter-wave radar continuously monitors the road ahead. When the distance between the two vehicles closes to 80 meters, the millimeter-wave radar determines a high-risk collision. The vehicle controller receives the signal and immediately activates the capacitive and inductive sensors, entering collision warning mode. When the distance between the two vehicles closes to 10 meters, both the millimeter-wave radar and the capacitive and inductive sensors confirm that the target distance is less than or equal to 10 meters, determining that a collision is absolutely unavoidable. Before the collision occurs, the vehicle controller immediately issues a command to unlock the vehicle's doors and deactivate the automatic door locking function. If a collision occurs, because the doors were unlocked before the collision, the door latches are retracted, preventing jamming that could occur due to vehicle deformation. If no collision occurs, the vehicle speed will increase and stabilize at 20 km / h within the next 5 seconds, and the ultrasonic radar will confirm that the road ahead is clear and free of obstacles. At this time, the vehicle controller will control the vehicle door locks to relock and reactivate the automatic door locking function.

[0038] Example 2 A vehicle door lock active unlocking control system, such as Figure 2 As shown, it includes: The first door lock unlocking module, when the vehicle speed is less than or equal to the first vehicle speed threshold, if the radar detects an obstacle in front of the vehicle and the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle is less than or equal to the first distance, then the capacitive and inductive sensors are activated to monitor the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle. When both the capacitive and inductive sensors and the radar detect that the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle is less than or equal to the second distance, the vehicle door lock is unlocked and the automatic door locking function is turned off. The second door lock unlocking module, when the vehicle speed is greater than the first vehicle speed threshold, if the radar detects an obstacle in front of the vehicle and the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle is less than or equal to the third distance, then the capacitive and inductive sensors are activated to monitor the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle. When both the capacitive and inductive sensors and the radar detect that the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle is less than or equal to the fourth distance, the vehicle door lock is unlocked and the automatic door locking function is turned off. Among them, the first distance > the second distance, the third distance > the fourth distance, the first distance < the third distance, and the second distance < the fourth distance; The automatic door locking module will relock the vehicle doors if no collision occurs after the vehicle doors are unlocked and the vehicle speed is maintained at or above the second speed threshold within a preset time window and no obstacle is detected in front of the vehicle. If a collision occurs, the vehicle doors will remain unlocked and the automatic door locking function will be turned off.

[0039] Example 3 A computer program product includes a computer program / instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement the vehicle door lock active unlocking control method of Embodiment 1.

[0040] The contents not described in detail in this specification are prior art known to those skilled in the art. Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of the present invention can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present invention can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present invention can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0041] This invention is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, generate instructions for implementing the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams. Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A device that provides the functions specified in one or more boxes.

[0042] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means, which are implemented in a process Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The function specified in one or more boxes.

[0043] These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable equipment to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable equipment for implementing the process. Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The steps of the function specified in one or more boxes.

[0044] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention and not to limit its scope of protection. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that after reading the present invention, they can still make various changes, modifications or equivalent substitutions to the specific implementation of the invention, but these changes, modifications or equivalent substitutions are all within the scope of protection of the pending claims of the invention.

Claims

1. A vehicle door lock active unlocking control method characterized by, Comprising: When the vehicle speed is less than or equal to a first vehicle speed threshold, if it is monitored by radar that there is an obstacle in front of the vehicle and the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle is less than or equal to a first distance, then the capacitive inductive sensor is started to monitor the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle, until both the capacitive inductive sensor and the radar monitor that the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle is less than or equal to a second distance, the vehicle door lock is controlled to be unlocked and the vehicle automatic locking function is turned off; When the vehicle speed is greater than the first vehicle speed threshold, if it is monitored by radar that there is an obstacle in front of the vehicle and the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle is less than or equal to a third distance, then the capacitive inductive sensor is started to monitor the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle, until both the capacitive inductive sensor and the radar monitor that the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle is less than or equal to a fourth distance, the vehicle door lock is controlled to be unlocked and the vehicle automatic locking function is turned off; Wherein, the first distance is greater than the second distance, the third distance is greater than the fourth distance, the first distance is less than the third distance, and the second distance is less than the fourth distance.

2. The vehicle door lock pro-active unlocking control method according to claim 1, characterized by, Further comprising: When the vehicle door lock is unlocked, if there is no collision of the vehicle, when the vehicle speed is maintained to be greater than or equal to a second vehicle speed threshold within a preset time window and there is no obstacle monitored in front of the vehicle, the vehicle door lock is re-locked; If the vehicle has a collision, the state of keeping the vehicle door lock unlocked and the vehicle automatic locking function turned off is maintained.

3. The vehicle door lock active unlocking control method according to claim 2, characterized in that: whether the vehicle has a collision is determined by a collision sensor.

4. The vehicle door lock pro-active unlocking control method according to claim 3, characterized by, The specific method for determining whether the vehicle has a collision by the collision sensor is: If the collision sensor signal is lost or the collision sensor sends a signal containing information that the vehicle has a collision, it is determined that the vehicle has a collision, otherwise it is determined that the vehicle has no collision.

5. The vehicle door lock active unlocking control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The radar for monitoring the obstacle when the vehicle speed is less than or equal to the first vehicle speed threshold is an ultrasonic radar.

6. The vehicle door lock active unlocking control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The radar for monitoring the obstacle when the vehicle speed is greater than the first vehicle speed threshold is a millimeter wave radar.

7. The vehicle door lock active unlocking control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: If the vehicle has a collision without being monitored by the capacitive inductive sensor and the radar, the vehicle door lock is controlled to be unlocked.

8. The vehicle door lock active unlocking control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The unlocking and locking of the vehicle door lock, and the turning on and off of the vehicle automatic locking function are controlled by a vehicle control unit.

9. A vehicle door lock active unlocking control system characterized by comprising: Comprising: A first door lock unlocking module, when the vehicle speed is less than or equal to a first vehicle speed threshold, if it is monitored by radar that there is an obstacle in front of the vehicle and the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle is less than or equal to a first distance, then the capacitive inductive sensor is started to monitor the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle, until both the capacitive inductive sensor and the radar monitor that the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle is less than or equal to a second distance, the vehicle door lock is controlled to be unlocked and the vehicle automatic locking function is turned off; The second door lock unlocking module, when the vehicle speed is greater than the first vehicle speed threshold, if the radar detects that there is an obstacle in front of the vehicle and the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle is less than or equal to the third distance, the capacitance-inductance sensor is started to monitor the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle, until the capacitance-inductance sensor and the radar both monitor that the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle is less than or equal to the fourth distance, the vehicle door lock is controlled to be unlocked and the automatic locking function of the vehicle is turned off. Wherein, the first distance is greater than the second distance, the third distance is greater than the fourth distance, the first distance is less than the third distance, and the second distance is less than the fourth distance.

10. A computer program product comprising computer programs / instructions, characterized in that, The computer program / instructions are executed by the processor to realize the vehicle door lock active unlocking control method in claims 1-8.

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