Dexterous vehicle system and control logic with automatic lane merging assistance

Abstract

The invention relates to a smart vehicle system and control logic with automatic lane merging assistance. Dexterous vehicle systems and control logic that provide automated lane merging assistance, methods for making / using such systems, and vehicles equipped with such systems are presented. A method of operating a motor vehicle includes a vehicle controller communicating with a host vehicle tracking device to receive location data therefrom indicative of a current location of the motor vehicle. Using such location data and a digital road map, the controller maps the location of the motor vehicle to the vehicle road and detects a lane merge event in response to the location of the host vehicle coinciding with a road section merge with another road lane section at a lane merge point. In response to detecting the lane merge event, the controller determines a new mirror angle for the driver mirror and concurrently commands the mirror actuator to move the driver mirror to the new mirror angle before the motor vehicle reaches the lane merge point.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure generally relates to motor vehicles having an automated driver assistance system. More particularly, aspects of this disclosure relate to a dexterous motor vehicle having control logic for performing automated lane merging assistance features. Background Technology

[0002] Currently manufactured motor vehicles (such as Hyundai cars) are equipped with networks of onboard electronics that provide autonomous driving capabilities to assist the driver in operating the vehicle. In automotive applications, one of the most recognizable types of autonomous driving features is cruise control. Cruise control allows the vehicle operator to set a specific vehicle speed and have the onboard vehicle computer system maintain that speed without the driver operating the accelerator or brake pedal. Next-generation adaptive cruise control (ACC) is an autonomous driving feature that regulates vehicle speed while simultaneously managing the headway between the primary "self" vehicle and the leading "target" vehicle. Another type of autonomous driving feature is lane change assist (LCA) systems, which use object detection and distance sensors to track oncoming vehicles in adjacent lanes and warn the driver when signaling an intention to merge into the adjacent lane. Intelligent Parking Assist (IPAS), lane detection and automatic steering ("Auto Steer") systems, electronic stability control (ESC) systems, and other advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) are also available on many modern cars.

[0003] Lane merging events are a routine part of daily motor vehicle operation, typically represented by two traffic lanes combining into a single lane. Besides multiple parallel traffic lanes merging into a single lane, lane merging events also frequently occur for drivers attempting to enter a fast-moving highway via an acute-angle ramp. The merging maneuver is implicitly performed by the driver of the lead vehicle positioning themselves directly forward on the ramp and tracking the leading vehicle (if any), while simultaneously attempting to position themselves parallel to and track any approaching vehicles in the rightmost "acceleration" lane of the highway. The driver then coordinates to merge the lead vehicle in front of or behind the approaching vehicle in the acceleration lane without intruding on the leading vehicle. In addition to the challenging weather conditions of attempting to simultaneously position and track multiple target vehicles in multiple lanes, lane merging maneuvers can be further complicated by severe weather, poor road surface conditions, traffic, and more. Furthermore, the less-than-ideal road topography of highway ramps can make merging vehicle merging challenging for drivers using their driver's side mirror or blind spot glances to observe fast-moving vehicles on the main highway. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This document presents a smart vehicle system with accompanying control logic for providing automatic lane merging assistance, methods for manufacturing such a system, methods for operating such a system, and motor vehicles equipped with such a system. As a non-limiting example, an onboard vehicle navigation system can proactively determine when the host vehicle is approaching a lane merging point, such as the end of a highway ramp; the onboard lane merging assist (LMA) can automatically adjust the rearview mirrors and / or side mirrors (collectively, “driver reflectors”) to help the driver better monitor traffic flow before the merging point. The LMA system can operate in various operating modes, including a simple “fixed” LMA mode that automatically adjusts the driver reflectors to a preset wide field of view, which can be selected by the driver or calibrated according to the host vehicle. The LMA system can also operate in an advanced “dynamic” LMA mode, which intelligently performs driver reflector adjustments to provide the optimal field of view based on factors such as the merging location environment, vehicle speed, and driver preferences. The adaptive “continuous” LMA mode performs successive mirror angle adjustments and, as needed, uses side blind spot indicators to intelligently render conflicting vehicles based on factors such as the speed, trajectory, and relative location of the main and target vehicles.

[0005] Various aspects of this disclosure relate to a smart vehicle control system and ADAS control logic for supplying automatic lane merging assist features. In an example, a method for operating a subject "master" vehicle is presented, the "master" vehicle having: a body; a driver's reflector attached to the body; and a reflector actuator coupled to the driver's reflector. In any order and in any combination of any of the options and features disclosed above and below, this representative method includes, for example, receiving location data indicating the real-time location of the primary motor vehicle from a wireless-enabled primary vehicle tracking device, by means of a resident or remote microcontroller, central processing unit, control module, programmable logic device, integrated circuit (IC) device, or network of processors / controllers / modules / devices / etc. (collectively, the “vehicle controller”); mapping the location of the primary vehicle to the vehicle road, for example, using the location data and a digital road map stored in memory, via the vehicle controller; detecting a lane merging event, for example, via the vehicle controller, in response to the primary vehicle’s real-time location coinciding with a road lane segment merging with an adjacent road lane segment at a lane merging point; determining a new reflector angle for the driver’s reflector, for example, via the vehicle controller, in response to the detection of the lane merging event; and, for example, commanding a reflector actuator (e.g., a bidirectional motor, a rotary actuator, a pneumatic cylinder, etc.) to move the driver’s reflector to the new reflector angle before the primary motor vehicle reaches the lane merging point, for example, via the vehicle controller.

[0006] This disclosure also relates to a computer-readable medium (CRM) containing controller-executable instructions for supplying lane merging assistance to a driver of a motor vehicle. In an example, a non-transient CRM stores instructions executable by a vehicle controller of a motor vehicle, the vehicle including: a body; a driver's reflector attached to the body; and an electric reflector motor communicatively connected to the vehicle controller and actuatedly coupled to the driver's reflector. When these CRM-stored instructions are executed, they cause the vehicle controller to perform operations including: receiving location data indicating the location of the motor vehicle's master vehicle from a wirelessly-enabled master vehicle tracking device in the motor vehicle; mapping the master vehicle location to a vehicle road using the received location data and a digital road map stored in memory; detecting a lane merging event in response to the master vehicle location coinciding with a first lane segment of the vehicle road merging with a second lane segment of the vehicle road at a lane merging point; determining a new reflector angle for the driver's reflector in response to detecting the lane merging event; and commanding the reflector motor to move the driver's reflector to the new reflector angle before the motor vehicle reaches the lane merging point.

[0007] Another aspect of this disclosure relates to intelligent motor vehicles with automatic lane merging assistance features. As used herein, the terms "vehicle" and "motor vehicle" may be used interchangeably and synonymously to include any relevant vehicle platform, such as passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, industrial vehicles, tracked vehicles, off-road and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), motorcycles, agricultural equipment, aircraft, spacecraft, electric bicycles, etc. In the example, a motor vehicle includes: a body having a passenger compartment; multiple wheels attached to the body (e.g., cornering modules coupled to a unibody or frame chassis); and other standard original equipment. The prime mover may have the characteristics of a traction motor and / or internal combustion engine assembly, located within the body and driving one or more wheels to propel the vehicle. A mirror assembly is also attached to the body, and the mirror assembly includes: a side-view and / or rear-view driver's mirror; and a controller automatic mirror actuator coupled to the driver's mirror in a driving manner.

[0008] Continuing the discussion of the above examples, the vehicle also includes: a resident or remote vehicle controller programmed to communicate with a wirelessly-enabled master vehicle tracking device to receive location data indicating the real-time location of the master motor vehicle. Using this location data and a digital road map stored in memory, the vehicle controller maps the vehicle's real-time location onto the vehicle's road and, consequently, detects a lane merging event in response to the vehicle's location and trajectory coinciding with a lane merging point on the vehicle's road where it merges with an adjacent road lane segment. In response to detecting a lane merging event, the vehicle controller determines a new reflector angle for the driver's reflector and then commands the reflector actuator to move the driver's reflector to the new reflector angle before the motor vehicle reaches the lane merging point.

[0009] For any of the disclosed vehicles, methods, and CRMs, determining a new reflector angle may include: retrieving a user-selected or vehicle-calibrated reflector angle from a resident memory device of the primary motor vehicle, and then setting the new reflector angle to the user-selected or vehicle-calibrated reflector angle. Alternatively, determining a new reflector angle may include: determining the relative angle between two merging lane segments, and then extrapolating the new reflector angle in real time based on the relative angle. Determining a new reflector angle may optionally include: determining the corresponding relative angles between a series of bow-shaped lane locations of a bow-shaped lane segment and adjacent lane segments, and then extrapolating a series of new reflector angles based on the corresponding relative angles between adjacent lane segments and bow-shaped lane locations of the bow-shaped lane segment. In this example, before the motor vehicle reaches the lane merging point, the reflector actuator is commanded to sequentially move the driver's reflector to the new reflector angle.

[0010] For any of the disclosed vehicles, methods, and CRMs, in parallel with the mirror actuator moving the driver's mirror to a new mirror angle, the vehicle controller may command the vehicle's resident driver feedback system to output an audible, visible, and / or tactile alert to warn the driver of the automatic movement of the driver's mirror controller. Alternatively, the vehicle controller may communicate with the vehicle's resident vehicle sensor array to receive sensor data indicating an approaching vehicle in a second lane segment. In this example, in parallel with the mirror actuator moving the driver's mirror to a new mirror angle, the vehicle controller may command the driver feedback system to output an audible, visible, and / or tactile alert to warn the driver of an approaching vehicle in the second lane segment. Alternatively, the vehicle controller may use the received sensor data to determine the target location of the approaching vehicle relative to the vehicle's real-time master vehicle location, and then extrapolate a second new mirror angle in real-time based on the target location of the approaching vehicle relative to the master vehicle's real-time location. In this example, the vehicle controller may command the mirror actuator to move the driver's mirror to the new mirror angle before the vehicle reaches the lane merging point.

[0011] For any of the disclosed vehicles, methods, and CRMs, the vehicle controller can determine whether a new reflector angle exceeds a predefined maximum permissible reflector angle; if the new reflector angle exceeds the predefined maximum permissible reflector angle, the controller can, in response, command the reflector actuator to move the driver's reflector to the predefined maximum permissible reflector angle. Alternatively, after the driver's reflector is moved to the new reflector angle, the vehicle controller can determine whether the primary vehicle has reached a lane merging point and / or merged into a second lane segment. If the primary vehicle has reached a lane merging point and / or merged into a second lane segment, the vehicle controller can, in response, command the reflector actuator to move the driver's reflector to a preset default position. Alternatively, by determining whether the driver's reflector is in the preset default position, the vehicle controller can respond to a lane merging event not detected; if the driver's reflector is not in the preset default position, the vehicle controller can, in response, command the reflector actuator to move the driver's reflector to the preset default position. Before adjusting the driver's reflector in response to a lane merging event, the vehicle controller can respond to the detected event by first determining whether the Lane Merging Assist (LMA) mode is active. In this example, if LMA mode is active, the reflector actuator can be further commanded to move the driver's reflector to a new reflector angle.

[0012] For any of the disclosed vehicles, methods, and CRMs, the primary vehicle tracking device may be: an onboard geolocation device (e.g., a GPS transceiver or cellular trilateration module) mounted on the vehicle body; and / or a handheld computing device (e.g., a smartphone, plug-in navigation device, or tablet computer) located inside the vehicle body and communicatively connected to the vehicle controller. In this example, the vehicle controller may determine whether the onboard geolocation device is present in the subject primary vehicle, properly functioning, and / or otherwise available for wirelessly receiving vehicle location data. If not, the controller may, in response, determine whether the handheld computing device is available for wirelessly receiving location data. In response to confirming that at least one of the onboard geolocation device or the handheld computing device is available, a mirror actuator may be further commanded to move the driver's mirror.

[0013] For any vehicle, method, and CRM disclosed, the digital road map can be: an in-vehicle road map stored in the resident memory of a motor vehicle (e.g., a geographic data file (GDF) map or a shared data access library (SDAL) map stored by an in-vehicle telematics unit); or an insertable road map stored in the memory of a handheld computing device communicatively connected to the vehicle controller (e.g., operating on a smartphone). Maps or Maps mobile applications); and / or online road maps, which can be retrieved wirelessly by the vehicle controller from a remote storage device (e.g., Maps mobile applications); and / or online road maps (e.g., Maps mobile applications); (Maps + Navigation). In this example, the vehicle controller may determine whether an onboard road map is easily accessible by the subject master vehicle, retrieved by the master vehicle, and / or otherwise available for mapping the master vehicle's real-time location to vehicle roads. If not, the vehicle controller may, in response, determine whether an interstitial road map is available for mapping the master vehicle's location to vehicle roads; if not, the controller may, in response, determine whether an online road map is available for mapping the master vehicle's location to vehicle roads. In response to determining that at least one of the onboard road map, interstitial road map, or online road map is available, the mirror actuator may be further commanded to move the driver's mirror.

[0014] According to one aspect of this disclosure, a method of operating a motor vehicle is provided, the motor vehicle having a body, a driver's reflector attached to the body, a reflector actuator coupled to the driver's reflector, and a vehicle controller connected to the reflector actuator, the method comprising: receiving, via the vehicle controller, location data indicating a master vehicle location of the motor vehicle from a master vehicle tracking device; mapping the master vehicle location to a vehicle road using the location data and a digital road map via the vehicle controller; detecting a lane merging event via the vehicle controller in response to the master vehicle location coinciding with a first lane segment merging with a second lane segment at a lane merging point; determining a new reflector angle for the driver's reflector via the vehicle controller in response to detecting the lane merging event; and commanding, via the vehicle controller, to move the driver's reflector to the new reflector angle before the motor vehicle reaches the lane merging point.

[0015] According to embodiments of this disclosure, determining the new reflector angle includes: retrieving a user-selected reflector angle or a vehicle-calibrated reflector angle from the resident memory device of the motor vehicle; and setting the new reflector angle as the user-selected reflector angle or the vehicle-calibrated reflector angle.

[0016] According to an embodiment of this disclosure, determining the new reflector angle includes: determining the relative angle between the first lane segment and the second lane segment via the vehicle controller; and calculating the new reflector angle in real time based on the relative angle between the first lane segment and the second lane segment.

[0017] According to an embodiment of this disclosure, the first lane segment is an arc-shaped lane segment, and determining the new reflector angle includes: determining, via the vehicle controller, corresponding relative angles between a series of arc-shaped lane locations of the arc-shaped lane segment and the second lane segment; and calculating a plurality of new reflector angles based on the plurality of relative angles between the second lane segment and the arc-shaped lane locations of the first lane segment, wherein commanding the reflector actuator includes commanding the reflector actuator to sequentially move the driver's reflector to the new reflector angle before the motor vehicle reaches the lane merging point.

[0018] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the method further includes: via the vehicle controller, in parallel with the mirror actuator moving the driver's mirror to the new mirror angle, commanding the driver feedback system of the motor vehicle to output an audible, visible, and / or tactile alert instructing the controller of the driver's mirror to move automatically.

[0019] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the method further includes: receiving sensor data from a sensor array attached to the body of the motor vehicle, via the vehicle controller, indicating an approaching vehicle in the second lane section; and, via the vehicle controller, in parallel with the mirror actuator moving the driver's mirror to the new mirror angle, commanding the driver feedback system to output an audible, visible, and / or tactile alert indicating that the approaching vehicle is approaching in the second lane section.

[0020] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the method further includes: using the sensor data via the vehicle controller to determine the target location of the approaching vehicle relative to the master vehicle location of the motor vehicle; calculating a second new reflector angle in real time based on the target location relative to the master vehicle location; and, before the motor vehicle reaches the lane merging point, commanding the reflector actuator via the vehicle controller to move the driver's reflector to the new reflector angle.

[0021] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the method further includes: determining, via the vehicle controller, whether the new mirror angle exceeds a predefined maximum permissible mirror angle, wherein commanding the mirror actuator includes, in response to determining that the new mirror angle exceeds the predefined maximum permissible mirror angle, commanding the mirror actuator to move the driver's mirror to the predefined maximum permissible mirror angle.

[0022] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the method further includes: after commanding the mirror actuator to move the driver's mirror to the new mirror angle via the vehicle controller, determining whether the motor vehicle has reached the lane merging point and / or merged into the second lane segment; and in response to determining that the motor vehicle has reached the lane merging point and / or merged into the second lane segment, commanding the mirror actuator to move the driver's mirror to a preset default position via the vehicle controller.

[0023] According to an embodiment of this disclosure, the method further includes: determining, via the vehicle controller, whether the driver's reflector is in a preset default position in response to the absence of the lane merging event; and, via the vehicle controller, commanding the reflector actuator to move the driver's reflector to the preset default position in response to determining that the driver's reflector is not in the preset default position.

[0024] According to an embodiment of this disclosure, the method further includes: via the vehicle controller, in response to detecting the lane merging event, determining whether a lane merging assist (LMA) mode is enabled, wherein in response to the LMA mode being enabled, the mirror actuator is further commanded to move the driver's mirror to the new mirror angle.

[0025] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the main vehicle tracking device includes an on-board geolocation device mounted to the vehicle body and / or a handheld computing device located inside the vehicle body. The method further includes: determining, via the vehicle controller, whether the on-board geolocation device can be used to wirelessly receive the location data; and via the vehicle controller, in response to determining that the on-board geolocation device is unavailable, determining whether the handheld computing device can be used to wirelessly receive the location data, wherein in response to determining that at least one of the on-board geolocation device or the handheld computing device is available, the reflector actuator is further commanded to move the driver's reflector to the new reflector angle.

[0026] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the digital road map includes an on-board road map stored in a resident memory device of the motor vehicle, an insertable road map stored in a memory device of a handheld computing device, and / or an online road map retrievable wirelessly from a remote memory device. The method further includes: determining, via the vehicle controller, whether the on-board road map is available for mapping the main vehicle location to the vehicle road; determining, via the vehicle controller, whether the insertable road map is available for mapping the main vehicle location to the vehicle road in response to determining that the on-board road map is unavailable; and determining, via the vehicle controller, whether the online road map is available for mapping the main vehicle location to the vehicle road in response to determining that the insertable road map is unavailable, wherein in response to determining that at least one of the on-board road map, the insertable road map, or the online road map is available, the mirror actuator is further commanded to move the driver's mirror to the new mirror angle.

[0027] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided that stores instructions executable by a vehicle controller of a motor vehicle, the motor vehicle including a body, a driver's reflector attached to the body, and an electric reflector motor communicatively connected to the vehicle controller and actuatedly coupled to the driver's reflector, wherein, when the instructions are executed, the instructions cause the vehicle controller to perform operations including: receiving location data indicating the location of the main vehicle from a wirelessly functional main vehicle tracking device in the motor vehicle; mapping the main vehicle location to a vehicle road using the received location data and a digital road map stored in a memory; detecting a lane merging event in response to the main vehicle location coinciding with a first lane segment of the vehicle road merging with a second lane segment of the vehicle road at a lane merging point; determining a new reflector angle for the driver's reflector in response to detecting the lane merging event; and commanding the reflector motor to move the driver's reflector to the new reflector angle before the motor vehicle reaches the lane merging point.

[0028] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a motor vehicle is provided, comprising: a body; a plurality of wheels attached to the body; a prime mover attached to the body and configured to drive at least one of the wheels to thereby propel the motor vehicle; a mirror assembly including a driver's mirror attached to the body and a mirror actuator coupled to the driver's mirror in a driving manner; and a vehicle controller programmed to: receive location data indicating a master vehicle location of the motor vehicle from a master vehicle tracking device; map the master vehicle location to a vehicle road using the location data and a digital road map; detect a lane merging event in response to the master vehicle location coinciding with a first lane segment merging with a second lane segment at a lane merging point on the vehicle road; determine a new mirror angle for the driver's mirror in response to detecting the lane merging event; and command the mirror actuator to move the driver's mirror to the new mirror angle before the motor vehicle reaches the lane merging point.

[0029] According to embodiments of this disclosure, determining the new reflector angle includes: retrieving a user-selected reflector angle or a vehicle-calibrated reflector angle from the resident memory device of the motor vehicle; and setting the new reflector angle as the user-selected reflector angle or the vehicle-calibrated reflector angle.

[0030] According to embodiments of this disclosure, determining the new reflector angle includes: determining the relative angle between the first lane segment and the second lane segment; and calculating the new reflector angle in real time based on the relative angle between the first lane segment and the second lane segment.

[0031] According to an embodiment of this disclosure, the first lane segment is an arc-shaped lane segment, and determining the new reflector angle includes: determining a series of arc-shaped lane locations of the arc-shaped lane segment and corresponding relative angles between the second lane segment; and calculating a plurality of new reflector angles based on the plurality of relative angles between the second lane segment and the arc-shaped lane locations of the first lane segment, wherein commanding the reflector actuator includes commanding the reflector actuator to sequentially move the driver's reflector to the new reflector angle before the motor vehicle reaches the lane merging point.

[0032] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the vehicle controller is further programmed to: in parallel with the mirror actuator moving the driver's mirror to the new mirror angle, command the driver feedback system of the motor vehicle to output an audible, visible, and / or tactile alert instructing the controller of the driver's mirror to move automatically.

[0033] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the vehicle controller is further programmed to determine whether the new mirror angle exceeds a predefined maximum permissible mirror angle, and wherein commanding the mirror actuator includes commanding the mirror actuator to move the driver's mirror to the predefined maximum permissible mirror angle in response to determining that the new mirror angle exceeds the predefined maximum permissible mirror angle.

[0034] The foregoing summary does not represent every embodiment or aspect of this disclosure. Rather, the foregoing summary provides only a summary of some of the new concepts and features set forth herein. The foregoing features and advantages, as well as other features and accompanying advantages, will readily become apparent from the following detailed description of illustrative examples and representative modes for implementing this disclosure when understood in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and appended claims. Furthermore, this disclosure expressly includes any and all combinations and sub-combinations of the elements and features presented above and below. Attached Figure Description

[0035] Figure 1 The illustration is a partial schematic side view of a representative motor vehicle according to various aspects of this disclosure, the motor vehicle having an automatic driver reflector system and a network of onboard controllers, sensors and communication devices for providing automatic lane merging assistance.

[0036] Figure 2 The diagram is a graphical representation of a representative vehicle lane merging assist (LMA) system based on various aspects of this disclosure.

[0037] Figure 3A and 3BThis is a flowchart illustrating a representative vehicle control protocol for executing automatic lane merging assist features according to various aspects of this disclosure. The vehicle control protocol may correspond to instructions stored in a non-transitory memory, which may be executed by a resident or remote microcontroller, central processing unit, control module, programmable logic circuit or other integrated circuit (IC) device or network of circuit / module / microcontroller / IC devices (collectively, the “Controller”).

[0038] This disclosure may have various modifications and alternatives, and some representative embodiments of this disclosure are shown by way of example in the accompanying drawings and will be described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the novel aspects of this disclosure are not limited to the specific forms illustrated in the drawings listed above. Rather, this disclosure covers all modifications, equivalents, combinations, arrangements, groupings, and alternatives that fall within the scope of this disclosure as covered, for example, by the appended claims. Detailed Implementation

[0039] This disclosure may have embodiments in many different forms. Representative embodiments of this disclosure are shown in the accompanying drawings and will be described in detail herein, wherein it is understood that these embodiments are provided as examples of the principles of the disclosure and not as limitations on the broad aspects of this disclosure. To this extent, elements and limitations described, for example, in the sections on abstract, background, summary of the invention, description of the drawings, and detailed description but not expressly set forth in the claims should not be incorporated, individually or collectively, in the claims by implication, inference, or otherwise. Furthermore, the use of terms such as “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., in this specification or claims is not in itself intended to establish order or numerical limitations; unless specifically indicated otherwise, these designations are intended to readily refer to similar features in this specification and drawings and to distinguish similar elements in the claims.

[0040] For the purposes of this disclosure, unless specifically denied, the following shall apply: the singular includes the plural, and vice versa (e.g., the indefinite articles “a,” “an,” and “the” should generally be interpreted as meaning “one or more”); the words “and” and “or” shall be both conjunctions and disjunctive words; the words “any” and “all” shall both mean “any and all”; and the words “including,” “containing,” “comprising,” “having,” etc., shall all mean “non-restrictively included.” Furthermore, approximate words (such as “approximately,” “almost,” “substantially,” “usually,” “approximately,” etc.) may be used, for example, herein to indicate “at, near, or almost at” or “within 0-5% of” or “within acceptable manufacturing tolerances” or any logical combination thereof. Finally, directional adjectives and adverbs (such as aft, stern, inside, outside, starboard, port, vertical, horizontal, up, down, forward, aft, left, right, etc.) may refer to a motor vehicle, such as the forward driving direction of the motor vehicle when the vehicle is operatively oriented on a level driving surface.

[0041] Now referring to the accompanying drawings, where similar labels consistently refer to similar features in several views, in Figure 1 A representative motor vehicle is illustrated herein, generally designated 10, and depicted herein as a sedan-style electric vehicle for the purposes of discussion. The illustrated vehicle 10—also referred to herein simply as a “motor vehicle” or “vehicle”—is merely an exemplary application that can implement aspects of this disclosure. Similarly, the use of a driver’s side mirror while entering a ramp across a highway to perform this concept should be understood as a non-limiting implementation of the features of the disclosure. Thus, it will be understood that aspects of this disclosure can be implemented using any available driver’s side mirror assembly, can be performed for any lane merging event, and can be incorporated into any logically related type of motor vehicle. Furthermore, only selected components of the motor vehicle and the vehicle’s LMA system are shown and described in detail herein. However, the vehicles and systems discussed below may include many additional and alternative features and other available peripheral hardware for implementing the various methods and functions of this disclosure.

[0042] Figure 1 The representative vehicle 10 is initially equipped with a vehicle telecommunications and information (“telematics processing”) unit 14, which wirelessly connects to a remotely located cloud computing host service 24 (e.g., via cellular networks, satellite services, wireless modems, etc.) Communication. As a non-limiting example, Figure 1Some of the other vehicle hardware components 16 shown in the overall diagram include an electronic video display device 18, a microphone 28, one or more audio speakers 30, and various user input controllers 32 (e.g., buttons, knobs, pedals, switches, touch pads, touchscreens, etc.). These hardware components 16 partially serve as a human-machine interface (HMI) that enables a user to communicate with the telematics unit 14 and other components residing in and remotely from the vehicle 10. For example, the microphone 28 provides the occupant with a means of inputting verbal commands; the vehicle 10 may be equipped with an embedded voice processing unit using audio filtering, editing, and analysis modules. Conversely, the speakers 30 provide audio output to the vehicle occupant and may be a separate speaker dedicated to the telematics unit 14 or may be part of an audio system 22. The audio system 22 is connected to a network connection interface 34 and an audio bus 20 to receive analog information, which is then rendered into sound by the one or more speaker components.

[0043] Network interface 34 is coupled to telematics unit 14 according to a communication method. Suitable examples of network interface 34 include twisted-pair / fiber Ethernet switches, parallel / serial communication buses, local area network (LAN) interfaces, controller area network (CAN) interfaces, etc. Network interface 34 enables vehicle hardware 16 to send and receive signals to and from each other, and to send and receive signals with various on-board and off-board systems of vehicle body 12. This allows vehicle 10 to perform various vehicle functions, such as modulating powertrain output, activating friction and regenerative braking systems, controlling vehicle steering, and other automatic functions. For example, telematics unit 14 can exchange signals with powertrain control module (PCM) 52, advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) module 54, autonomous domain control unit (ADCU) 56, steering control module (SCM) 58, brake system control module (BSCM) 60, and various other vehicle ECUs (such as transmission control module (TCM), engine control module (ECM), sensor system interface module (SSIM), battery electronic control module (EBCM), etc.).

[0044] Continue to refer to Figure 1The telematics unit 14 is an onboard computing device that provides services both individually and through communication with other networked devices. This telematics unit 14 may typically consist of one or more processors 40, each of which may be embodied as a discrete microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a dedicated control module. The vehicle 10 may provide centralized vehicle control via a central processing unit (CPU) 36, which is operably coupled to a real-time clock (RTC) 42 and one or more electronic storage devices 38, each of which may take the form of a CD-ROM, disk, IC device, solid-state drive (SSD) memory, hard disk drive (HDD) memory, flash memory, semiconductor memory (e.g., various types of RAM or ROM), etc.

[0045] Long-range communication (LRC) capability with remote, non-vehicle-mounted devices may be provided via one or more of a cellular chip set / component, a navigation and positioning chip set / component (e.g., a Global Positioning System (GPS) transceiver), or a wireless modem (all of which are collectively represented in 44). Short-range communication (SRC) capability via device 46 (e.g., The communication device may provide a near-field communication (NFC) transceiver, a dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) component 48, and / or dual antennas 50, enabling short-range wireless connectivity. The aforementioned communication device may supply data exchange as part of periodic broadcasts in vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) or vehicle-to-anything (V2X) communication systems (e.g., vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P), vehicle-to-device (V2D), vehicle-to-cloud (V2C), etc.).

[0046] CPU 36 receives sensor data from one or more sensing devices for performing controller-assisted autonomous driving (AV / ADAS) operations or vehicle navigation services. These sensing devices utilize technologies such as photoelectric detection, radar, laser, ultrasound, optics, infrared, or other suitable techniques, including short-range communication technologies (e.g., DSRC) or ultra-wideband (UWB) radio technology. According to the illustrated example, vehicle 10 may be equipped with one or more digital cameras 62, one or more distance sensors 64, one or more vehicle speed sensors 66, one or more vehicle dynamic sensors 68, and any necessary filtering, classification, fusion, and analysis hardware and software for processing the raw sensor data. The vehicle speed sensors 66 may be mechanical or electromagnetic driveshaft sensors or electronic wheel speed sensors for detecting vehicle speed. The vehicle dynamic sensors 68 may be single-axis or three-axis accelerometers, angular rate sensors, inclinometers, steering wheel angle sensors, brake sensors, inertial measurement units (IMUs), etc., for detecting longitudinal and lateral acceleration, yaw, roll and / or pitch rates, steering angle, and other dynamically relevant parameters. The type, placement, quantity, and interoperability of distributed onboard sensor arrays can be individually or collectively adapted to a given vehicle platform to achieve the desired level of automated vehicle operation.

[0047] To propel the motor vehicle 10, an electrified powertrain is operable to generate traction torque and deliver it to one or more of the vehicle's drive wheels 26. The powertrain... Figure 1 The battery pack is represented by a rechargeable energy storage system (RESS), which may have the characteristics of a chassis-mounted traction battery pack 70 operably connected to an electric traction motor (M) 78. The traction battery pack 70 typically consists of one or more battery modules 72, each containing a set of battery cells 74, such as pouch-shaped, can-shaped, or cylindrical lithium, zinc, nickel, or silicone cells. One or more electric motors (such as a traction motor / generator (M) unit 78) draw power from the battery pack 70 and optionally deliver power to it. A power inverter module (PIM) 80 electrically connects the battery pack 70 to the motor(s) 78 and regulates the current transfer between them. The battery pack 70 may include integrated electronic packages, such as a cell monitoring unit (CMU) 76 with wireless capabilities, enabling on-module management, cell sensing, etc.

[0048] During the operation of motor vehicle 10 (also referred to herein as the “primary vehicle” or “self-vehicle”), the driver may need to perform lane merging maneuvers when driving in a road lane that intersects and merges with an adjacent road lane (e.g., a highway acceleration lane) and a road lane (e.g., a highway on-ramp). For many lane merging events, the primary vehicle lane is not parallel to the adjacent road lane it is merging with, such as when a precise or S-shaped highway exit ramp intersects a highway service road or main area intersection at an angle of inclination. These road topologies reduce lateral visibility and thus make it difficult for the driver to coordinate merging the primary vehicle in front of and behind an approaching target vehicle in an adjacent lane. The elevation difference between the primary vehicle lane and the adjacent road lane can further exacerbate driver visibility and perception limitations.

[0049] This paper presents a smart vehicle system and control logic for supplying automatic lane merging assist (LMA) features to facilitate lane merging maneuvers at merging intersections. The onboard LMA system automatically adjusts the driver's rearview mirror and / or one or both side mirrors (collectively referred to as "driver reflectors") to help the driver better monitor traffic flow in adjacent lanes before reaching the merging point. Location-based activation triggering of the LMA system can employ multiple data sources to perform real-time vehicle geolocation and road mapping, including onboard, online, and plug-in devices. For different levels of convenience, the LMA system can be configured in different operating modes, such as:

[0050] (1) Fixed LMA mode: During a lane merging event, the LMA system performs a single adjustment to the orientation of the driver's reflector; the "new" reflector angle can be preset by the manufacturer / LMA system or selected by the driver / owner;

[0051] (2) Dynamic LMA Mode: During a lane merging event, the LMA system performs a single adjustment to the driver's reflector orientation; during the LMA logic's runtime, a new reflector angle is determined based on the relative angle between the primary lane and adjacent lanes; and

[0052] (3) Continuous LMA mode: The LMA system performs multiple adjustments to the orientation of the driver's reflector; while the master vehicle is performing merge operation, the orientation of the reflector can be continuously or constantly adjusted according to the real-time position of the master vehicle and the geometry of the master vehicle's lane.

[0053] Each of the operating modes listed above can be supplemented with enhanced vehicle blind spot sensing and warning features. For example, a side blind spot indicator can be activated when there is a potential collision between the primary vehicle and an approaching target vehicle in an adjacent lane. For some applications, the side blind spot zone can be dynamically defined based on the merging location geometry.

[0054] Figure 2 An example of a vehicle lane merging assist system 100 is presented, using which aspects of this disclosure can be implemented. According to the illustrated example, the vehicle LMA system 100 includes: a master vehicle tracking module 102 for receiving real-time or near-real-time geodetic location data of the master motor vehicle; a digital road map module 104 for mapping the master vehicle's location to the vehicle's road; and a vehicle positioning module 118 for converting the received geodetic and map data into the on-site master vehicle position, orientation, and speed relative to a drivable surface. The vehicle tracking module 102, road map module 104, and positioning module 118 may be located within the driver feedback device 106 in the cabin (such as...). Figure 1 The embedded software application operating on the central control console remote information processing unit 14) or the dedicated microcontroller operating within the embedded vehicle controller network.

[0055] The main vehicle tracking module 102 can take on various form factors, such as an onboard geolocation device 108 installed in the vehicle's passenger compartment (e.g., a GPS transceiver or cellular trilateration module), or it can be a plug-in computing device 110 located inside the passenger compartment and connected to the main vehicle via wired or wireless means (e.g., a smartphone, plug-and-play navigation device, tablet computer, laptop computer, etc.). The digital road map module 104 can be embodied as an onboard road map 112 stored in the main vehicle's resident memory (e.g., a GDF or SDAL map stored by an onboard telematics unit). The road map module 104 can also be a plug-in road map 114 retrievable from a handheld computing device connected to the main vehicle via wired / wireless means (e.g., operating on the occupant's smartphone). Maps or Maps mobile app) and / or can be accessed from the Internet by the main vehicle (e.g., ... ) or remote memory device (e.g., Maps+Navigation provides online road maps retrieved wirelessly. (116)

[0056] Figure 2The vehicle LMA system 100 can use the vehicle positioning module 118, embodied as an embedded navigation software application or a discrete navigation service module, to provide real-time geodetic tracking and geolocation mapping services to obtain road topography, traffic, and speed limit information associated with the vehicle's current location. The component synchronization module 120 can coordinate the automatic lane merging assist feature with other vehicle subsystems, such as blind side warning systems, haptic driver warning systems, LCA systems, etc. The feature control module 122 can be used as a centralized control node to manage and coordinate the execution of the LCA system with various other ADAS features of the main vehicle. The vehicle occupant (whether it is the driver, owner, passenger, etc.) can use the feature settings HMI module 124 to selectively activate and deactivate the LMA system, set user preferences within the LMA system, select one of the available LMA system operating modes, etc. The LMA system 100 communicates with the mirror actuator controller 126 to control the operation of the mirror actuator 130 (e.g., a bidirectional electric motor, rotary actuator, pneumatic cylinder, etc.) within the driver's mirror assembly 128, thereby modulating the mirror yaw angle and / or mirror pitch angle of the driver's side mirror 132.

[0057] Next, refer to Figure 3A and 3B The flowchart, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, generally describes an approach for using resident ADAS systems (such as, Figure 2 The LMA system 100 is used to support vehicles (such as, Figure 1 10) The automobile provides an improved method or control protocol for automatic lane merging assistance. Figure 3A and 3B Some or all of the operations illustrated in the diagram and described in more detail below may represent algorithms corresponding to non-transitory processor-executable instructions, which are stored, for example, in main memory, secondary memory, or remote memory (e.g., ...). Figure 1 The instructions are stored in one or more resident vehicle storage devices 38 and / or remote cloud host service 24 databases. These instructions may be executed, for example, by a microcontroller, processing unit, programmable logic circuit, dedicated control module, or other module or device or network of controller / module / device (e.g., vehicle CPU 36 and / or BO server-level computer of cloud host service 24) to perform any or all of the functions described above and below in connection with the disclosed concepts. It should be appreciated that the order of execution of the illustrated operation blocks may be changed, additional operation blocks may be added, and some operations in the operations described herein may be modified, combined, or eliminated.

[0058] exist Figure 3AThe “start” terminal block 201, method 200 may begin with processor-executable instructions stored in memory, the instructions being used to initialize lane merging assist procedures to assist the driver during a lane merging event. Figure 1 During the use of the motor vehicle 10, this routine can be initialized in real time, near real time, continuously, systematically, occasionally, and / or at predefined time intervals (e.g., every 10 or 100 milliseconds). Alternatively, terminal block 101 can be initialized in response to user command prompts (e.g., input via telematics input controller 32), resident vehicle controller prompts (e.g., from CPU 36), or broadcast prompts received from a centralized back-end (BO) vehicle service system (e.g., from cloud host service 24). As a non-limiting example, method 200 can be automatically initialized when a primary vehicle is detected entering a highway on-ramp, a highway off-ramp, or any other road segment known to be merging with another non-parallel lane segment. Figure 3A and 3B When some or all of the control operations presented in the control operation are completed, method 200 may proceed to the "end" terminal block 209 and temporarily terminate, or alternatively, it may cycle back to terminal block 201 and run in a continuous loop.

[0059] Proceeding from terminal block 201 to vehicle GPS determination block 203, method 200 determines whether an on-board geolocation device (e.g., a telematics GPS transceiver) is both present in the subject vehicle and suitably operational (e.g., "available") to wirelessly receive real-time vehicle geolocation data. As a non-limiting example, Figure 2 The feature control module 122 can check the vehicle-mounted geolocation device 108 and run diagnostic checks to determine whether the geolocation device 108 is turned on and actively receiving geolocation data. If the vehicle-mounted geolocation device is unavailable (block 203 = "No"), method 200 can execute the plug-in GPS decision block 205 in response to determine whether a handheld computing device with wireless capabilities (e.g., Whether the paired smartphone is connected to the master vehicle in a communicative manner and can be used to receive vehicle geolocation data wirelessly. For example, the feature control module 122 may attempt to pair with the plug-in computing device 110 and retrieve cellular trilateration data from it. If the plug-in geolocation device is also deemed unavailable (block 205 = "No"), method 200 may, in response, set a system fault flag in resident memory in no GPS error process block 207; method 200 may then proceed to terminal block 209 and temporarily terminate, or may loop back to decision block 211 and attempt to retrieve a suitable map. Instead of executing decision blocks 203 and 205 sequentially, method 200 may execute two "if / then" conditional statement queries simultaneously, or in at least some applications, if the LMA system has confirmed that the master vehicle location service is available, method 200 may omit the two decision blocks 203 and 205.

[0060] Upon determining that an onboard geolocation device is available (block 203 = "Yes") or an insertable geolocation device is available (block 205 = "Yes"), method 200 may, in response, execute onboard map decision block 211 to determine whether an onboard road map (e.g., an open street map stored in telematics) is easily accessible and retrieved by the subject master vehicle (e.g., "Available") for mapping the master vehicle's location to the vehicle's road. If the onboard digital map is unavailable (block 211 = "No"), method 200 may, in response, execute insertable map decision block 213 to determine whether an insertable road map (e.g., a map stored in a smartphone) is available. Maps or Whether a mobile application can be used to map the main vehicle location to vehicle roads. If an interstitial digital map is not available (block 213 = "No"), then method 200 may, in response, perform an online map decision block 215 to determine an online road map (e.g., Maps+Navigation or If the online map service (Maps) is available for mapping the primary vehicle location to vehicular roads, and if the online road map is also unavailable (block 215 = "No"), then method 200 may, in response to a map-free error process block 217, set a system fault flag in resident memory; method 200 may then temporarily terminate at terminal block 209. Instead of executing decision blocks 211, 213, and 215 sequentially, method 200 may execute these three "if / then" conditional statement queries simultaneously. It is also contemplated that if the LMA system has confirmed that the road mapping service is available, method 200 may completely omit decision blocks 211, 213, and 215.

[0061] After confirming that the in-vehicle road map is available (block 211 = "Yes"), the plug-in road map is available (block 213 = "Yes"), or the online road map is available (block 215 = "Yes"), method 200 may execute the main vehicle positioning subroutine 219 in response to locate the main vehicle on the map. For example, Figure 2 The vehicle positioning module 118 can use location data (e.g., GPS geodetic coordinates) received by the main vehicle tracking module 102 and map data (e.g., an open-source spatial database) retrieved by the digital road map module 104 to map the real-time location of the main vehicle to the main road segment. Then... Figure 3A The page connector (A) arrives Figure 3B The page connector (A), method 200 then executes feature enable decision block 221 to determine whether lane merging assist mode is enabled on the primary vehicle. For example, Figure 2 The vehicle feature control module 122 can communicate with the feature setting HMI module 124 to determine whether the driver has selectively enabled or disabled the vehicle LMA mode.

[0062] If LMA mode is not enabled (block 221 = "No"), then method 200 can proceed to Figure 3B The standard position determination block 223 determines whether the driver's reflector is currently oriented in a preset default position. For example, Figure 2 The side mirror 132 of the driver's reflector assembly 128 may have three available positions: (1) a standard "default" position: a reflector angle selected by the driver / owner / user and set in memory for normal driving scenarios; (2) a ramp position: a preset or actively determined reflector angle or a series of reflector angles for performing lane merging maneuvers; and (3) a maximum position: the maximum permissible reflector angle specified by the mechanical limits of the reflector assembly 128. If the driver's reflector is positioned in the standard default position (block 223 = "Yes"), method 200 may loop back to process block 219 or decision block 221. Conversely, by moving the driver's reflector to the standard position in reflector default process block 225, for determination that the driver's reflector is not positioned in the standard default position (block 223 = "No"), Figure 3B Method 200 can respond. According to Figure 2As illustrated in the diagram, the feature control module 122 can transmit a command signal to the mirror actuator controller 126, requesting the side mirror 132 to move to a standard position; the mirror actuator controller 126 can then command the mirror actuator 130 to rotate the side mirror 132 to the corresponding default mirror pitch and yaw angles. At this point, method 200 can disable the lane merging assist mode in LMA closing process block 227 (e.g., the feature control module 122 sets the feature status to "off" in HMI module 124) and cycle back to block 219 or block 221.

[0063] Upon confirming that LMA mode is enabled (block 221 = "Yes"), method 200 may proceed to... Figure 3B The merge event decision block 229 determines whether the primary vehicle is experiencing a lane merging event. This is for example, not a limitation. Figure 2 The feature control module 122 can communicate with the vehicle positioning module 118 to... Figure 1 During the operation of vehicle 10, the vehicle location and trajectory are actively tracked to determine when the real-time location of the primary vehicle coincides with a road lane segment (“primary lane”) merging with an adjacent non-parallel lane segment (“target lane”) at the lane merging point being identified. A common example includes a driving scenario where the primary vehicle is crossing a highway ramp and attempts to perform a lane change to enter an adjacent acceleration lane of the highway before the ramp ends. In response to determining that the primary vehicle has not experienced a lane merging event (block 229 = “No”), method 200 may loop as a response to... Figure 3B The decision block is 223, and the operations described above for blocks 223, 225, and 227 are performed.

[0064] After detecting a lane merging event (block 229 = "Yes"), method 200 responds by executing lane exit decision block 231 to determine whether the primary vehicle has merged into the adjacent target lane or has reached the merging point of the primary and target lanes and has therefore left the primary lane. Continue Figure 1 and 2 In the example shown in the diagram, feature control module 122 can communicate with vehicle positioning module 118 to determine whether the resident vehicle 10 has performed a lane merging maneuver or has encountered / passed an on-ramp terminal and is therefore now traveling in the target lane. In response to determining that the resident vehicle has left the resident lane (block 231 = "Yes"), method 200 can loop as a response to Figure 3B The decision block is 223, and if appropriate, the operations described above for blocks 223, 225, and 227 are performed.

[0065] Continue to refer to Figure 3BIf it is inferred that the main vehicle has not left the main lane (block 231 = "No"), method 200 may execute a further adjustment decision block 233. As a non-limiting example, feature control module 122 may output visual or audible cues to the driver to approve the execution of LMA assist features and / or select the expected operating mode for the vehicle LMA system 100. Figure 1 The touchscreen input controller 32 can display user-selectable soft-touch buttons to enable or disable LMA; if enabled, the telematics unit 14 can subsequently display user-selectable soft-touch buttons for selecting a fixed mode, dynamic mode, or continuous mode. Alternative system configurations may simply prompt the user to enable / disable LMA, simply prompt the user to select the desired operating mode, or, for example, completely omit decision block 233 in a scenario where the driver has already enabled LMA and the operating mode has been selected.

[0066] If the user chooses not to continue LMA mirror adjustment (block 233 = "No"), method 200 can respond by executing ramp position determination block 243 and correspondingly determining whether the driver's mirror is currently oriented in the lane merging (ramp) position. If the driver's mirror is currently oriented in the lane merging (ramp) position (block 235 = "Yes"), method 200 can loop back to determination block 221 and determine whether the lane merging assist mode is enabled. If the driver's mirror is not currently oriented in the lane merging (ramp) position (block 235 = "No"), method 200 can execute new mirror angle subroutine 237 in response and retrieve a predefined "new" lane merging (ramp) position for the driver's mirror or calculate an estimated "new" lane merging (ramp) position. After confirming that a lane merging event has occurred, for example, feature control module 122 can invoke the default mirror angle of the driver's mirror, which can be a user-selected mirror angle stored in resident cache memory or a vehicle-calibrated mirror angle. Alternatively, the feature control module 122 can communicate with the road map module 104 to obtain road topography data, thereby obtaining the relative angle between the main lane segment and the target lane segment. The feature control module 122 can then retrieve a lookup table listing a series of relative angles associated with the corresponding new reflector angle; from this lookup table, the feature control module 122 selects a new reflector angle associated with the main-target relative angle. Alternatively, the feature control module 122 can calculate the new reflector angle as the mathematical difference between the main-target relative angle and the current angle of the driver's reflector.

[0067] If the user chooses to continue LMA mirror adjustment (block 233 = "Yes"), method 200 can proceed to the new mirror angle subroutine 239 and calculate a series of new "new" lane merging (ramp) positions. For example, to perform continuous LMA mode for a bow-shaped main lane section, Figure 2 The feature control module 122 can determine a series of corresponding relative angles between a series of bow-shaped lane locations and adjacent target lane sections within the bow-shaped main lane segment. The feature control module 122 then calculates a series of new mirror angles, each based on a corresponding relative angle among the relative angles between adjacent lane sections and one of the bow-shaped lane locations within the bow-shaped lane segment. Once calculated, the feature control module 122 can coordinate with the mirror actuator controller 126 to control the operation of the mirror actuator 130, thereby sequentially moving the driver's side mirror 132 to each of the new mirror angles in the series before the main vehicle 10 reaches the lane merging point. The determination of the new mirror angles can be based on the environment and therefore depends on road geometry information from a map database (e.g., 2D geometry, 3D elevation, etc.), the main vehicle's trajectory, real-time speed, preset speed limits, target lane traffic, etc.

[0068] Continue to refer to Figure 3B Method 200 may proceed from subroutines 237 and 239 to a maximum position determination block 241 to determine whether the retrieved, estimated, or otherwise determined “new” lane merging (ramp) position of one or more driver reflectors exceeds a predefined maximum permissible reflector angle (“maximum position”). In response to determining that one or more new reflector angles exceed the predefined maximum permissible reflector angle (box 241 = “Yes”), method 200 may execute a “Use Maximum” process block 243 to set the new reflector angle to the maximum position, and command a reflector actuator to move the driver reflector to the predefined maximum permissible reflector angle in a set reflector signal output block 247. On the other hand, if the feature control module 122 confirms that the new reflector angle does not exceed the predefined maximum permissible reflector angle (box 241 = "No"), then method 200 may execute the "Use New" process block 245 to set the new reflector angle to a determined "new" lane merging (ramp) angle, and then command the reflector actuator to move the driver's reflector to the lane merging (ramp) angle in the set reflector signal output block 247.

[0069] After the LMA reflector adjustment feature is executed in signal output block 247, method 200 can enable lane merging assist mode in LMA activation process block 249 (e.g., feature control module 122 sets the feature status to "on" in HMI module 124) and temporarily terminate in end terminal block 209. (Exit) Figure 3A and 3B Prior to the automatic LMA control protocol presented in the document, for example, in Figure 3BIn process block 249, method 200 can determine whether the host vehicle has reached the main-target lane merging point and / or merged into the target lane after the driver's reflector is moved to a new reflector angle. If either instance is true, method 200 can automatically command the reflector actuator to move the driver's reflector back to a preset default position (i.e., once the lane merging event has ended, the host vehicle returns the driver's reflector to its original position). Alternatively, by coordinating feature control module 122 with component synchronization module 120 to control the activation of the host vehicle's resident driver feedback system to output an audible, visible, and / or tactile alert to the driver warning the driver of the automatic movement of the driver's reflector controller (i.e., so that the driver knows their reflector is being moved by LMA system 100 when the driver is performing a lane merging maneuver), method 200 can supplement by automatically repositioning the driver's reflector to a new reflector angle in signal output block 247.

[0070] During a lane merging event, method 200 can provide processor-executable instructions for coordination between ADAS module 54 and SSIM to receive sensor data from an onboard sensor array (e.g., camera 62, distance sensor 64, etc.) for detecting and tracking any approaching vehicles in the target lane segment. When an LMA mirror adjustment feature is executed (e.g., at signal output block 247) and the driver's mirror is moved to a new mirror angle, feature control module 122 can coordinate with component synchronization module 120 to manage the activation of the resident driver feedback system, thereby outputting audible, visual, and / or tactile alerts to the driver warning the driver of one or more approaching target vehicles in the target lane. In this example, feature control module 122 can use sensor data to obtain the corresponding target location relative to each approaching target vehicle relative to the primary vehicle. Based on the target locations of the approaching target vehicles(s) relative to the primary vehicle's real-time location, feature control module 122 can then extrapolate one or more (second) new mirror angles in real time. Before the primary vehicle reaches the lane merging point, the primary vehicle can then automatically move the driver's mirror to said one or more new mirror angles.

[0071] Beyond lane merging events, publicly available features can be employed. For example, automatic driver mirror movement can help support a variety of different vehicle reversing maneuvers, such as reversing from a driveway or parking space, where a different perspective is required compared to conventional settings (e.g., the driveway is at an angle relative to the road). Another example could include reversing maneuvers where there is a target object of interest (e.g., an obstacle, pedestrian, etc.); the parent vehicle can automatically adjust the position of one or more mirrors to improve visibility (e.g., an animal near the reversing vehicle).

[0072] In some embodiments, aspects of this disclosure can be implemented via computer-executable programs (such as program modules, generally referred to as software applications or applications) whose instructions are executed by any controller or controller variation described herein. In non-limiting examples, the software may include routines, programs, objects, components, and data structures that perform specific tasks or implement specific data types. The software may form interfaces to allow a computer to respond to input sources. The software may also cooperate with other code segments to initiate various tasks in response to data received in conjunction with a received data source. The software may be stored on any of a variety of storage media, such as CD-ROMs, magnetic disks, and semiconductor memories (e.g., various types of RAM or ROM).

[0073] Furthermore, various computer systems and computer network configurations (including multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics devices, minicomputers, mainframe computers, etc.) can be used to implement aspects of this disclosure. Additionally, aspects of this disclosure can be implemented in a distributed computing environment, where tasks are performed by resident and remote processing devices linked via a communication network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules can reside on both local and remote computer storage media, including memory storage devices. Therefore, various hardware, software, or combinations thereof can be combined in a computer system or other processing system to implement aspects of this disclosure.

[0074] Any method described herein may include machine-readable instructions for execution by (a) a processor, (b) a controller, and / or (c) any other suitable processing means. Any algorithm, software, control logic, protocol, or method disclosed herein may be embodied as software stored on a tangible medium such as, for example, flash memory, solid-state drive (SSD) memory, hard disk drive (HDD) memory, CD-ROM, digital versatile disc (DVD), or other storage devices. The entire algorithm, control logic, protocol, or method and / or portions thereof may alternatively be executed by means other than a controller and / or embodied in firmware or dedicated hardware (e.g., implemented by application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field-programmable logic devices (FPLDs), discrete logic, etc.). Furthermore, while a particular algorithm may be described with reference to the flowcharts and / or workflow diagrams depicted herein, many other methods for implementing the exemplary machine-readable instructions may be used alternatively.

[0075] Various aspects of this disclosure have been described in detail with reference to the illustrated embodiments; however, those skilled in the art will recognize that many modifications can be made thereto without departing from the scope of this disclosure. This disclosure is not limited to the precise construction and composition disclosed herein; any and all modifications, alterations, and variations that are clearly apparent from the foregoing description fall within the scope of this disclosure as defined by the appended claims. Furthermore, this concept explicitly includes any and all combinations and sub-combinations of the foregoing elements and features.

Claims

1. A method of operating a motor vehicle, the motor vehicle having a body, a driver's reflector attached to the body, a reflector actuator coupled to the driver's reflector, and a vehicle controller connected to the reflector actuator, the method comprising: The vehicle controller receives location data indicating the location of the main vehicle from the main vehicle tracking device. The vehicle controller uses the location data and digital road map to map the main vehicle location to the vehicle's road. In response to the fact that the location of the main vehicle coincides with the first lane segment merging with the second lane segment at the lane merging point, the vehicle controller detects the lane merging event; In response to the detection of the lane merging event, the vehicle controller determines a new mirror angle for the driver's mirror; and Before the vehicle reaches the lane merging point, the vehicle controller commands the mirror actuator to move the driver's mirror to the new mirror angle.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the new reflector angle comprises: Retrieve the user-selected mirror angle or the vehicle-calibrated mirror angle from the vehicle's resident memory device; and Set the new reflector angle to either the reflector angle selected by the user or the reflector angle calibrated by the vehicle.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the new reflector angle comprises: The relative angle between the first lane segment and the second lane segment is determined by the vehicle controller. and The new reflector angle is calculated in real time based on the relative angle between the first lane segment and the second lane segment.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first lane segment is an arc-shaped lane segment, and wherein determining the new reflector angle comprises: The vehicle controller determines the corresponding relative angles between a series of lane locations separated by an arc in the bow-shaped lane section and the second lane section; and Based on the multiple relative angles between the lane locations of the second lane segment and the first lane segment, which are separated by an arc, multiple new reflector angles are calculated. The command to the reflector actuator includes commanding the reflector actuator to sequentially move the driver's reflector to the new reflector angle before the motor vehicle reaches the lane merging point.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: The vehicle controller, in parallel with the mirror actuator moving the driver's mirror to the new mirror angle, commands the vehicle's driver feedback system to output an audible, visible, and / or tactile alert instructing the controller of the driver's mirror to move automatically.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: The vehicle controller receives sensor data from a sensor array attached to the body of the motor vehicle, which indicates an approaching vehicle in the second lane section. and The vehicle controller, in parallel with the mirror actuator moving the driver's mirror to the new mirror angle, commands the driver feedback system to output an audible, visible, and / or tactile alert indicating that an approaching vehicle is approaching in the second lane section.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising: The vehicle controller uses the sensor data to determine the target location of the approaching vehicle relative to the location of the master vehicle of the motor vehicle; The angle of the second new reflector is calculated in real time based on the target location relative to the location of the main vehicle. and Before the vehicle reaches the lane merging point, the vehicle controller commands the mirror actuator to move the driver's mirror to the new mirror angle.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: The vehicle controller determines whether the angle of the new reflector exceeds the predefined maximum permissible reflector angle. The command to the mirror actuator includes, in response to determining that the new mirror angle exceeds the predefined maximum permissible mirror angle, commanding the mirror actuator to move the driver's mirror to the predefined maximum permissible mirror angle.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: After the vehicle controller commands the mirror actuator to move the driver's mirror to the new mirror angle, it determines whether the motor vehicle has reached the lane merging point and / or merged into the second lane segment. and In response to determining that the motor vehicle has reached the lane merging point and / or merged into the second lane segment, the vehicle controller commands the mirror actuator to move the driver's mirror to a preset default position.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: The vehicle controller determines whether the driver's reflector is in a preset default position in response to the absence of a lane merging event. and In response to determining that the driver's reflector is not in the preset default position, the vehicle controller commands the reflector actuator to move the driver's reflector to the preset default position.

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