Method for adjusting the sensitivity of at least one selective restraint system in a vehicle and vehicle

Abstract

Method for adjusting the sensitivity (12) of at least one selective restraint system (10) in a vehicle, in particular a motor vehicle, wherein the sensitivity (12) of at least one restraint system (10) is adjusted depending on a data source which includes at least one piece of information about current driving data, wherein the sensitivity (12) of the at least one restraint system (10) is adjusted depending on the data of a chassis sensor (30), characterized in that the vehicle is an autonomous vehicle and that the sensitivity (12) of the restraint system (10) is adjusted based on the seating position of at least one occupant of the vehicle.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a method for adjusting the sensitivity of at least one selective restraint system in a vehicle, in particular a motor vehicle, wherein the sensitivity of at least one restraint system is set depending on a data source which includes at least one piece of information about current driving data.

[0002] In addition, the invention relates to a vehicle with at least one chassis sensor, with at least one restraint system and with at least one restraint system control unit.

[0003] Restraint systems in motor vehicles are known in a wide variety of designs in the prior art. The purpose of these restraint systems is twofold: firstly, to secure vehicle occupants to protect them from the impact of a collision, which could, in the worst case, eject them from the vehicle; and secondly, and in particular, to protect vehicle occupants from collisions with components of the vehicle structure, such as the steering wheel, dashboard, and body pillars.

[0004] Restraint systems, such as airbags, can significantly reduce the risk of injury in these specific situations. Crucially, such a restraint system must deploy reliably and quickly even in dangerous situations, while simultaneously not being so sensitive that it deploys unexpectedly in harmless situations.

[0005] US patent 2019 / 0256027A1, for example, discloses a method in which the sensitivity of an impact detection system is modified such that a restraint system is triggered earlier when data acquired by a sensor predicts a possible collision. This method uses, in particular, at least one environmental sensor.

[0006] The disadvantage of methods known from the state of the art is that the use of environmental sensors may become inaccurate the more dynamic a driving situation is.

[0007] The publication DE 10 2006 001 352 A1 discloses a vehicle with a restraint system and a device for detecting a skidding motion of the vehicle, wherein a trigger threshold value for the restraint system can be changed depending on the state of motion of the vehicle.

[0008] German patent application DE 10 2021 205 553 A1 discloses a method for automatically implementing safety measures when a vehicle drives on a shoulder that differs from a roadway. The method provides that a safety measure is implemented by tightening at least one seat belt of the vehicle's restraint system depending on an assessed hazard situation.

[0009] German patent application DE 10 2016 213 130 A1 discloses a method for controlling a pedestrian protection system in a vehicle. In this method, an off-road driving signal indicating that the vehicle is in an off-road driving program is generated as the evaluation information if the evaluation shows that the vehicle is in an off-road driving program or, additionally or alternatively, is driving off a paved road. If, however, the evaluation shows that the vehicle is not in an off-road driving program or, additionally or alternatively, is driving on a paved road, a road driving signal indicating that the vehicle is driving on a road is generated as the evaluation information. Finally, using this evaluation information, a control signal is generated to activate the pedestrian protection system.

[0010] The publication DE 10 2005 022 997 A1 discloses a method and a device for the preventive control of an occupant protection device in a vehicle with sensor technology which records driving condition data, and with a reversible occupant protection device which can be triggered before the time of the collision and thereby put into effect.

[0011] The invention is therefore based on the objective of providing a method for adjusting the sensitivity of at least one selective restraint system in a vehicle and a vehicle in which an improved speed of triggering a restraint system in a dangerous situation is achieved.

[0012] In the present invention, this problem is initially solved by the features of claim 1 in that the sensitivity of the at least one restraint system is adjusted depending on the data of a chassis sensor.

[0013] Sensitivity refers to the triggering behavior of the respective restraint system. Higher sensitivity leads to faster triggering of the restraint system, such as the deployment of an airbag. A restraint system is understood to be a device designed to protect the driver or occupants of a vehicle from injury should an accident occur. In this sense, restraint systems are devices that secure the driver or occupants in the vehicle and / or prevent them from impacting a part of the vehicle and sustaining injury.

[0014] The sensitivity is adjusted based on a data source. This data source is primarily sensor data that is part of the vehicle ecosystem. Sensors that record driving data are primarily used. This includes, for example, speeds, inclinations, accelerations, steering angles, and so on. According to the invention, data from a chassis sensor is used, and the sensitivity of the selective restraint system is adjusted depending on the sensor data from the chassis sensor(s).

[0015] A primary advantage of the invention is that the use of driving data allows for faster adjustment of the restraint system's sensitivity compared to using environmental sensors. In the event of unexpected acceleration, which could indicate a loss of traction, the sensitivity can be increased before a collision occurs. Consequently, the restraint system can be deployed much more quickly in the event of an impact, thus increasing safety and reducing the risk of injury.

[0016] Further preferred embodiments of the invention result from the other features mentioned in the dependent claims.

[0017] In a first embodiment of the method according to the invention, the sensitivity is adjusted when the chassis sensor transmits information indicating that the vehicle is skidding. Especially when the vehicle loses control, environmental sensors cannot provide the necessary accuracy to selectively adjust the sensitivity of the restraint systems. However, the probability of an accident following a loss of vehicle control is significantly increased. Therefore, if the chassis sensor signals indicate a skidding process, it is advantageous to increase the sensitivity of the restraint system so that it can be triggered quickly in the event of a subsequent impact.In this way, a lateral impact in particular can be predicted quickly, whereby specific areas can be protected by lowering the activation threshold of the restraint system.

[0018] In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the chassis sensor is an ESP sensor. Electronic stability control (ESC) is standard equipment in many vehicles. This driver assistance system attempts to prevent the vehicle from skidding at the limit in curves, both in cases of oversteer and understeer, by selectively braking individual wheels, thus ensuring the driver retains control of the vehicle. Accordingly, ESP sensors detect driving behavior, particularly at the limit, and can provide reliable information about whether a vehicle is about to skid.

[0019] To further improve the method, a further embodiment of the invention provides that the sensitivity of the at least one restraint system is additionally adjusted depending on environmental sensors installed on the vehicle. The environmental sensors are used in a supplementary manner. In this way, a plausibility check can be performed using the redundant signals.

[0020] According to the invention, the vehicle is an autonomous vehicle. Especially in autonomous vehicles, where no driver is required, the seating positions for the occupants can be designed to be more relaxed than would be necessary in a manually controlled vehicle. Therefore, it is particularly important to keep the reaction time of the restraint system's sensitivity adjustment as short as possible.

[0021] According to the invention, the sensitivity of the restraint system is adjusted based on the seating position of at least one vehicle occupant. Since, particularly in autonomous vehicles, the seating position can be optimized for maximum comfort, even to the point of lying down, such a seating position can also influence the sensitivity setting of the restraint system. It is also conceivable that separate restraint systems could be used for the lying position, with appropriately adjusted sensitivity settings.

[0022] To better adapt the inventive method to the conditions in the vehicle, a further embodiment of the inventive method provides that the sensitivity of at least two restraint systems is adjusted, wherein a first sensitivity is set for a first restraint system and a second sensitivity is set for a second restraint system. Different restraint systems can therefore have different sensitivity settings. Depending on the type of restraint system, the sensitivity may not need to be as high in certain situations as with other restraint systems.

[0023] In a particularly preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention, the first restraint system is an airbag. An airbag, as a pyrotechnic restraint system, must be able to be activated particularly quickly in order to prevent injuries to the vehicle occupants from an impact with vehicle parts. The sensitivity of the airbag must therefore be comparatively high.

[0024] Additionally or alternatively, in a further embodiment of the invention, the second restraint system can be a seat or a seat belt. The seat belt can, for example, be tightened during an impact to secure the vehicle occupant in the seat. Activation while driving, without an accident, can sometimes be perceived as unpleasant by an occupant. Therefore, the sensitivity does not need to be set as sensitively as, for example, with an airbag. By subsequently adjusting the sensitivity depending on driving behavior, a maximally comfortable driving experience can be created for the occupants without compromising safety.

[0025] The aforementioned problem is also solved by a vehicle with at least one chassis sensor, at least one restraint system, and at least one restraint system control unit. It is provided that the restraint system control unit is configured and designed such that a method according to the invention is feasible. The above descriptions regarding the method according to the invention also apply accordingly to the vehicle according to the invention.

[0026] Electronic or electrical devices and / or other relevant devices or components according to the embodiments of the present invention described herein can be implemented using any suitable hardware, firmware (for example, an application-specific integrated circuit), software, or a combination of software, firmware, and hardware. For example, the various components of these devices can be placed on an integrated circuit (IC) or on separate IC chips. Furthermore, the various components of these devices can be implemented on a flexible printed circuit film, a tape carrier package (TCP), a printed circuit board (PCB), or on a single substrate.Furthermore, the various components of these devices can be a process or thread running on one or more processors in one or more computer devices, executing computer program instructions, and interacting with other system components to perform the various functions described here. The computer program instructions are stored in memory, which can be implemented in a computer device using standard memory, such as main memory (RAM). The computer program instructions can also be stored on other non-transferable, computer-readable media, such as a CD-ROM, a flash drive, or similar.A competent person should also recognize that the functionality of different computer devices can be combined or integrated into a single computer device, or that the functionality of a particular computer device can be distributed among one or more other computer devices, without deviating from the scope of application of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

[0027] Unless otherwise stated in individual cases, the various embodiments of the invention mentioned in this application can be advantageously combined with one another.

[0028] The invention is explained below using exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. These show: Fig. 1 a schematic representation of the improvement of a method for adjusting the sensitivity of at least one restraint system for occupants in a vehicle and Fig. 2 a schematic representation of a process of an embodiment of a method for adjusting the sensitivity of at least one restraint system for occupants in a vehicle.

[0029] Fig. Figure 1 shows a comparison of the speed of a procedure for adjusting at least one restraint system 10 in a vehicle, whereby a sensitivity 12 of the restraint system 10 is set. An accident can be divided into four phases. The first phase is considered normal driving 14. If an accident is foreseeable but has not yet occurred, one is in the pre-crash phase 16. This is followed by the in-crash phase 18, in which the actual accident takes place. In this phase, there is contact between an obstacle and the vehicle. In the final phase of the accident, the post-crash phase 20, all parties involved are at rest.

[0030] A restraint system 10 should be triggered as precisely as possible during the in-crash phase 18, so that the greatest possible protection for the occupants is ensured and the restraint system is not triggered during normal driving 14. It is known from the prior art that in-crash sensors 22 are used which detect an accident or an impact. Fig. Figure 1 shows a timeline 24. The schematic representation above the timeline 24 represents the procedure commonly used in the prior art. At the time of impact 26, i.e., during the transition from the pre-crash phase 16 to the in-crash phase 18, the in-crash sensors 22 detect an accident or an impact. A crash algorithm 28, which is calculated by a processing unit not shown here, recognizes the severity of the accident and calculates which restraint systems 10 must be activated. The restraint systems are then activated during the in-crash phase 18 up to the post-crash phase 20.

[0031] The block diagram below the timeline 24 represents an embodiment of a method according to the invention for adjusting the sensitivity 12 of at least one restraint system 10. In the pre-crash phase 16, the vehicle's behavior is first checked by a chassis sensor 30. The chassis sensor 30 is part of an electronic stability program (ESP). An ESP is standard equipment in many vehicles. This driver assistance system attempts to prevent the vehicle from skidding at the limits of cornering, both in cases of oversteer and understeer, by selectively braking individual wheels, thus ensuring the driver retains control of the vehicle. Corresponding ESP sensors therefore detect the vehicle's behavior, particularly at the limits of cornering, and can provide reliable information about whether a vehicle is about to skid.

[0032] A processing unit (not shown here) determines a driving condition 32 based on the chassis sensors 30. If the values ​​transmitted by the chassis sensors 30 indicate that the vehicle is skidding or has already skidded, the sensitivity 12 of the restraint systems 10 is subsequently adjusted. The probability of an accident resulting from a loss of vehicle control is significantly increased. Therefore, if the signals from the chassis sensor 30 indicate a skidding process, it is advisable to increase the sensitivity of a restraint system 10 so that it can be triggered quickly in the event of a subsequent impact. Accordingly, the sensitivity 12 is increased so that the restraint system 10 can trigger more quickly should an accident occur during the further course of the vehicle's loss of control.

[0033] Furthermore, in this embodiment, in-crash sensors 22 are used. At the time of impact 26, i.e., during the transition from the pre-crash phase 16 to the in-crash phase 18, the in-crash sensors 22 detect an accident or an impact. The crash algorithm 28, which is calculated by a computing unit not shown here, recognizes the severity of the accident and calculates which restraint systems 10 must be activated. However, because the activation threshold of the restraint systems 10 was already lowered in the pre-crash phase 16, the activation of the restraint systems 10 occurs significantly faster than it would in the procedure above the timeline 24. Fig. 1 It is therefore evident that the restraint system 10 below the timeline 24 is temporally prior to the restraint system 10 of the procedure above the timeline 24.

[0034] Fig.Figure 2 shows a schematic representation of an embodiment of a method according to the invention for adjusting the sensitivity 12 of the restraint systems 10. In the present embodiment, the vehicle (not shown) in which the restraint systems 10 are adjusted in their sensitivity 12 is an autonomous vehicle. The vehicle therefore drives without the direct influence of a driver, so that the occupants do not need to pay attention to road traffic but can attend to more important matters. Especially in autonomous vehicles, where no driver is required, the seating positions for the occupants can be designed to be more relaxed than would be necessary in a manually controlled vehicle. Therefore, it is particularly important to keep the reaction time of the sensitivity adjustment of the restraint system 10 as short as possible.

[0035] The procedure again includes a preliminary step (100), a pre-crash phase (16), in which a chassis sensor checks whether the vehicle is skidding, i.e., has lost control, or whether it is proceeding normally. If skidding is detected, the sensitivity (12) of the restraint systems (10) is adjusted in step 102.

[0036] Additionally, in step 104, the sensitivity of the restraint system 10 is adjusted based on the seating position of at least one vehicle occupant. Since, particularly in autonomous vehicles, the seating position can be optimized for maximum comfort, even to the point of a reclining position, such a seating position can also be factored into the sensitivity setting of the restraint system 10. It is also conceivable that separate restraint systems 10, not shown here, are used for the reclining position, for which an appropriate sensitivity 12 is set.

[0037] Based on the knowledge that the sensitivity 12 of the restraint systems 10 needs to be adjusted, step 106 provides for setting a first sensitivity 12 for a first restraint system 10. In step 108, a second sensitivity 12 is set for a second restraint system 10. Different restraint systems 10 can therefore have different sensitivity settings. Depending on the type of restraint system 10, the sensitivity 12 may not need to be as high in certain situations as it would be for other restraint systems 10. In the present embodiment, the first restraint system 10 is an airbag. The second restraint system 10 is a seat belt.

[0038] In-crash sensors 18 can detect an accident or impact at the time of impact 26, i.e., during the transition from the pre-crash phase 16 to the in-crash phase 18, in step 110. The crash algorithm 28, which is calculated by a processing unit not shown here, recognizes the severity of the accident in step 112 and calculates which restraint systems 10 must be activated. According to the embodiment, the first restraint system 10 and the second restraint system 10 are activated independently of each other in steps 114 and 116, respectively. However, since the activation threshold of the restraint systems 10 was already lowered in the pre-crash phase 16, the activation of the restraint systems 10 occurs sufficiently quickly to minimize the risk of injury to the vehicle occupants. Reference symbol list 10 Restraint system 12 Sensitivity 14 Normal driving situation 16 Pre-Crash Phase 18 In-Crash Phase 20 Post-Crash Phase 22 In-Crash Sensors 24 Timeline 26 Time of impact 28 Crash Algorithm 30 Chassis sensor 32 Driving condition 100 Check driving process 102 Sensitivity setting 104 Sensitivity of restraint system according to seating position 106 Setting the sensitivity of the first restraint system 108 Setting the sensitivity of the second restraint system 110 Accident or impact detection 112 Calculation of the severity of the accident 114 Activation of first restraint system 116 Activation of second restraint system

Claims

[1] Method for adjusting the sensitivity (12) of at least one selective restraint system (10) in a vehicle, in particular a motor vehicle, wherein the sensitivity (12) of at least one restraint system (10) is adjusted depending on a data source which includes at least one piece of information about current driving data, wherein the sensitivity (12) of the at least one restraint system (10) is adjusted depending on the data of a chassis sensor (30), characterized by , that the vehicle is an autonomous vehicle and that the sensitivity (12) of the restraint system (10) is adjusted based on the seating position of at least one occupant of the vehicle. [2] Method according to claim 1, characterized by , that a sensitivity adjustment (12) is made when information is transmitted by the chassis sensor (30) indicating that the vehicle is skidding. [3] Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized bythat the chassis sensor (30) is an ESP sensor. [4] Method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by , that the sensitivity (12) of the at least one restraint system (10) is additionally adjusted depending on environmental sensors installed on the vehicle. [5] Method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized by , that the sensitivity (12) of at least two restraint systems (10) is set, wherein a first sensitivity (12) is set for a first restraint system (10) and wherein a second sensitivity (12) is set for a second restraint system (10). [6] Method according to claim 5, characterized by , that the first restraint system (10) is an airbag. [7] Method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized by , that the second restraint system (10) is a seat function or a safety belt. [8] Vehicle with at least one chassis sensor (30), with at least one restraint system (10) and with at least one restraint system control unit, characterized by , that the restraint system control unit is set up and designed in such a way that a method according to one of claims 1 to 7 is feasible.

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