Method and device for controlling a direction indicator

Abstract

A method and a device for controlling a direction indicator of a vehicle are proposed, wherein the activation of the direction indicator is carried out by an input signal of a driver-operable control element, and the activated direction indicator is deactivated when an environmental sensor of the vehicle detects the completion of a driving maneuver of the vehicle.

Description

The present invention relates to a method and a device for controlling a direction indicator of a vehicle, wherein the activation of the direction indicator is effected by an input signal of a driver-actuatable operating element, and the activated direction indicator is deactivated when a surroundings sensor of the vehicle detects the completion of a driving maneuver of the vehicle.Prior ArtDE 103 55 807 A1 discloses a control system for a motor vehicle bumper which provides video-based lane recognition. In addition, a unit is present for in particular automatic activation or deactivation of the turn signal indicator as a function of the video-based lane recognition.Core and Advantages of the InventionThe essence of the present invention is to configure the activation and deactivation of a direction indicator (also referred to in general terms as a turn indicator) such that, on the one hand, the highest possible degree of automation for increasing the comfort of the driver and, on the other hand, the highest possible reliability with regard to the correct activation and / or deactivation is achieved.According to the invention, this is achieved by the features of the independent claims. Advantageous refinements and refinements emerge from the dependent claims.In this context, in the context of the present invention, the direction indicator is understood to be an optical traffic light system on vehicles, which signal a change in direction of travel or a change in roadway of the own vehicle (also referred to as ego vehicle) by intermittently illuminating other road users. The vehicle can be a passenger car, a truck, a truck with trailer or with trailer, or a single-track vehicle such as a motorcycle or an e-bike.A completion of a driving maneuver is to be understood within the scope of the present invention such that the vehicle carries out a lane change and the vehicle has completed the lane change.Completion of a driving maneuver is also fulfilled if the vehicle has substantially completed the lane change, but the maneuver has not yet been completed to such an extent that the vehicle drives completely within the target lane. Thus, the completion of a driving maneuver can also be present when the lane change is completed to a predefined degree, for example to 80% or to 70% or to 60.A signalling interval is to be understood within the scope of the present invention as being the time duration during which the intermittently illuminated direction indicator (flasher) repeats its signal sequence.This time duration between two signal sequences or the signaling interval is usually permanently predefined in the vehicle and is thus always of the same length, but can also have different durations depending on the application, for example in the case of direction indicators which consist of a plurality of segments, the segments being activated in a sequence, so that a running light effect arises.It is advantageously provided that the completion of a driving maneuver consists of reaching the target lane or the end of the turn process or the end of the parking process or parking process. In most conceivable driving maneuvers, a steering wheel actuation of the driver is necessary in order to carry out the lane change, the driving direction change or the parking / unparking maneuver. A driving maneuver can be considered to be ended in this case if the steering activity of the driver no longer continues. Alternatively, the termination of a driving maneuver can be determined on the basis of the extent to which the host vehicle has struck the new lane or the new driving direction. Furthermore, it is also possible to consider the driving maneuver as finished if a specific percentage such as 70% or 80% or 90% of the vehicle is located in the new lane or the angle of the change in the direction of travel has been reached to 70% or 80% or 90%. While the ego vehicle still has the remaining 10% or 20% or 30% in front of it at the change in lane or at the change in driving direction, the direction indicator can already be deactivated without road users being irritating in the vehicle environment, since it is clear for each road user that the vehicle will complete his driving maneuvers because of the driving practice.Furthermore, it is advantageous if the completion of a driving maneuver is detected by the environment sensor by detecting the lane markings or the roadway course by means of a front camera. The environment sensor, in particular a forward-oriented environment sensor, recognizes the future lane to be traveled and likewise possibly new lanes after a change in the direction of travel. Thus, the completion of a driving maneuver can also be detected by the environment sensor by the lane boundaries being detected by means of a front radar. Because of the distribution of preceding or oncoming vehicles, lane recognition is also possible by means of radar sensors. By the lateral distance of objects located in front of the house from the extended vehicle longitudinal axis, a distribution histogram can be created which enables lane detections (see, for example, DE 10115551.4).In the future, fine structures can also be resolved by using high-resolution radar systems (so-called "imaging radars") and can recognize, for example, the line structures and arrow structures applied to the road surface.Advantageously, it can also be provided that the completion of a driving maneuver is detected by evaluating the steering angle. The termination of the driving maneuver can be detected in that the steering angle is integrated over time and after detection of a steering and thus an increase to a value, the integration sum approaches the value zero again when the lane change or the change in driving direction is deflected.Furthermore, it is advantageous that after activation of the direction indicator is actuated by an input signal of a driver-actuatable operating element, the direction indicator is activated for a specific duration, in particular for a predetermined number of signaling intervals, and upon expiration of the predetermined duration, in particular upon expiration of the predetermined number of signaling intervals, it is checked whether the driving maneuver of the vehicle has been completed and, if the end of the driving maneuver has not yet been detected, the direction indicator remains activated until the completion of the driving maneuver of the vehicle is detected. In present-day vehicles, tap indicators are often installed, in which the operating element in the form of a steering column lever is tapped only briefly without engaging the lever, whereupon a predetermined number of indicator actuations, usually 3 signaling intervals, are passed through and the direction indicator is then deactivated. This advantageous development allows the integration of the known tap turn signal function into the proposed new activation function and deactivation function of a direction indicator.It is furthermore advantageous that the activation of the direction indicator is automatically deactivated after a maximum period of time has elapsed. This maximum time duration should be dimensioned such that the direction indicator is not deactivated during the driving maneuver, but rather should be dimensioned such that a direction change maneuver or a lane change maneuver or a parking and unparking maneuver is ended in normal circumstances. Advantageously, the maximum time duration is in the range of 45 seconds to 90 seconds or even longer.It is advantageously provided that the direction indicator can be deactivated manually at any time by the driver. When engaging the driver-actuatable operating element, which can be designed, for example, as a steering column lever, the driver can deactivate the direction indicator by manually pushing the engaged steering column lever back into the neutral position. If the steering column lever was actuated by the driver without the lever engaging, it is possible that the driver likewise manually deactivates the direction indicator. This can be done, for example, by briefly operating in the opposite direction without latching the lever in place, or by operating the lever in an orthogonal direction.Furthermore, a device is provided which is designed to run the method according to the invention. This device advantageously has a control device which receives signals from a driver-actuatable actuating device and outputs signals to a direction indicator. Furthermore, the control device receives signals from at least one environment sensor, advantageously also from a plurality of environment sensors.Advantageously, the control device for the direction indicator can also be integrated in the environment sensor. An evaluation of the environment sensor signal can thus take place in the sensor, so that only the signal for notifying the completion of the driving maneuver has to be transmitted to the control device by the environment sensor. For evaluation purposes, a controller may also advantageously be provided which is designed as a central control unit or as a zone control unit in which further functions are advantageously implemented as software functions, for example also further functions which are based on signals from the environment sensor.Furthermore, a computer program product is provided which is configured to execute, implement and / or actuate the method according to one of the claims, and a machine-readable storage medium on which the computer program product according to the independent computer program claim is stored.It is of particular importance to implement the method according to the invention in the form of a control element which is provided for a control device of a driver assistance function of a motor vehicle. In this case, a program is stored on the control element, which program can be executed on a computing device, in particular on a microprocessor or signal processor, and is suitable for executing the method according to the invention. In this case, the invention is therefore implemented by a program stored on the control element, so that this control element provided with the program represents the invention in the same way as the method for which the program is suitable for executing. In particular, an electrical storage medium, for example a read-only memory (ROM), can be used as control element.A computer program product or computer program with program code which can be stored on a machine-readable carrier or storage medium such as a semiconductor memory, a hard disk memory or an optical memory and is used for carrying out, implementing and / or controlling the steps of the method according to one of the embodiments described above is also advantageous, in particular if the program product or program is executed on a computer, a programmable control device or a similar device.Further features, possible applications and advantages of the invention are evident from the following description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, which are illustrated in the figures of the drawing. All features described or shown form the subject matter of the invention, either alone or in any combination, independently of their summary in the patent claims or their reference, and independently of their formulation or representation in the description or in the drawings.The method can be implemented, for example, in software or hardware or in a mixed form of software and hardware, for example in a control device.The approach presented here furthermore provides a driver assistance system which is designed to carry out, actuate or implement the steps of a variant of the method presented here in corresponding devices.The driver assistance system can be an electrical device having at least one computing unit for processing signals or data, at least one memory unit for storing signals or data, and at least one interface and / or a communication interface for reading in or outputting data which are embedded in a communication protocol. The computing unit can be, for example, a signal processor, a so-called system ASIC or a microcontroller for processing sensor signals and outputting data signals depending on the sensor signals. The memory unit may be, for example, a flash memory, an EPROM, or a magnetic memory unit. The interface can be designed as a sensor interface for reading in the sensor signals from a sensor and / or as an actuator interface for outputting the data signals and / or control signals to an actuator. The communication interface can be designed to read in or output the data wirelessly and / or in a wired manner. The interfaces can also be software modules which are present, for example, on a microcontroller, in addition to other software modules.DRAWINGSExemplary embodiments of the invention are explained below with reference to drawings. They show FIGS. 1 a, 1 b show in each case a plan view of a traffic situation for explaining the function according to the invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram for explaining the device according to the invention; and FIG. 3 shows a schematic flow diagram for explaining the method according to the invention.DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTSFIG. 1 ashows a first traffic situation, on the basis of which the invention is explained. A multi-lane road 4 can be seen, which has 3 lanes in the example shown. Alternatively, a 2-lane road or a single-lane road with oncoming traffic lane can also be used.On this road, the ego vehicle 1 or the host vehicle 1 equipped with the device and function according to the present invention travels. A preceding road user 3 is driving in front of the own vehicle 1, which road user, for example, drives more slowly than the ego vehicle 1 or blocks the lane as a stationary object. Therefore, the driver of the ego vehicle 1 intends to carry out a lane change, which is indicated by the trajectory arrow 5.The vehicle 1 has direction indicators 2 which are advantageously arranged at the vehicle corners of the vehicle 1 and can be activated in pairs (left and right) in order to signal a lane change to the other road users 3, for example.For this purpose, the driver of the ego vehicle 1 can actuate a turn signal lever 14, not shown in FIG. 1 a, or an actuating element 14 for the direction indicator 2. This is, for example, a steering column switch which is not mechanically latched for actuation, but rather is merely tapped and then activates the direction indicators 2 on the corresponding side of the vehicle 1.The disadvantage of the tap indicators from the known prior art is that the signaling only takes place within a limited time and in particular independently of the specific maneuver execution.In the present case, the direction indicator 2 is activated until a surroundings sensor 15 mounted in the vehicle 1 recognizes the completion of the driving maneuver, which is configured as the lane change in the example of FIG. 1 a.For this purpose, environment sensor 15 may be advantageously designed as a video sensor or as a video camera. Alternatively or in combination, the environment sensor can also be implemented in other sensor technologies such as radar sensor, lidar sensor, ultrasonic sensor. Environment sensor 15 is advantageously situated in such a way that it detects the surrounding area of the vehicle in front of ego vehicle 1 and is also able to recognize the lane markings in the process. Alternatively or in combination, other detection areas are also possible, for example also behind the vehicle or both side areas, so that the lane markings can be seen on the left and on the right of the ego vehicle 1.If the driving direction indicator 2 activated by the tap lever 14 thus recognizes that it remains activated for as long as the driving maneuver takes. The duration of the direction indicator 2 is thus dependent on the driving maneuver or on the time duration for carrying out the driving maneuver without the driver having to deactivate the direction indicator again.In the following FIG. 1 b, a further traffic situation is shown, on the basis of which the invention is explained. A road can be seen which opens into a traffic intersection 6. The road is only shown as 1 lane, but can also be embodied as multi-lane, as can the intersection 6.On this road, the ego vehicle 1 or the host vehicle 1 equipped with the device and function according to the present invention travels. The vehicle 1 approaches the intersection region 6 and wishes to turn left, for example, which is represented by the trajectory arrow 7.The vehicle 1 in turn has direction indicators 2, which are advantageously arranged at the vehicle corners of the vehicle 1 and can be activated in pairs (left and right) in order to signal a change in direction of travel to the other road users 3, for example.For this purpose, the driver of the ego vehicle 1 can actuate a turn signal lever 14, not shown in FIG. 1 b, or an actuating element 14 for the direction indicator 2. This is, for example, a steering column switch which is not mechanically latched for actuation, but rather is merely tapped and then activates the direction indicators 2 on the corresponding side of the vehicle 1. In the present case, the direction indicator 2 is activated until a surroundings sensor 15 mounted in the vehicle 1 recognizes the completion of the driving maneuver, which is configured as the change in the direction of travel in the example of FIG. 1 b.With regard to the configuration of environment sensor 15 and its alignment with the vehicle environment of vehicle 1, reference is made to the explanations in FIG. 1 a. If environment sensor 15 recognizes the completion of the driving maneuver, then turn signal indicator 2 activated by the driver by means of tap lever 14 is deactivated again. The direction indicator 2 thus remains activated as long as the driving maneuver (in this case the turn process) lasts. If the environment sensor recognizes the end of the direction changes, the direction indicator 2 is again automatically activated without the driver having to perform an operation.FIG. 2 shows a schematic block diagram for illustrating a possible embodiment of the device according to the invention.A control device 10 is shown, to which input signals are supplied and which outputs the output signal. This control device 10 can be designed as an independent control device in the vehicle 1, it can alternatively also be a control device which has further functions with further input signals and output signals and is designed as a central control device or as a zone control device for a multiplicity of functions.The control device 10 has an input circuit 11 by means of which input signals 12, 13 can be fed to the control device 10. Suitable input signals 12, 13 are, in particular, output signals of a driver-actuatable device for driving direction indicator 14 (turn signal lever) and / or a surroundings sensor 15. If the driver of the ego vehicle 1 intends to change lanes 5 or change directions 7 or another driving maneuver such as a parking or unparking process, the driver can actuate the driver-actuatable device for driving direction indicator 14 (flasher lever) and thus notify the traffic environment of his intention sufficiently before the start of the driving maneuver 5, 7 before the maneuver is started and could be perceived by the vehicle itself. Upon actuation of the operating element 14 for the direction indicator 2, the device 14 outputs an activation signal 12 which is supplied as an input signal to the control device 10. In this case, the signal can contain additional information, for example, as to whether the activation applies to the left-side or right-side direction indicators 2. Alternatively, 2 different activation signals 12 can also be provided in each case for the left-side or right-side direction indicators 2.An output signal of a surroundings sensor 15 may be provided as a further input signal 13. Environment sensor 15 may be, for example, an environment camera of a driver assistance system, by means of which lane boundaries or additional information such as directional arrows on the ground may be recognized. Alternatively, environment sensor 15 may also be designed as a radar sensor or as a lidar sensor or as an ultrasonic sensor or as any combination of the sensor types mentioned.The environment sensor 15 is able to identify, on the basis of its sensor signal evaluation, whether a driving maneuver 5, 7, such as a lane change, a driving direction change, a parking maneuver or a parking-out maneuver, is concluded or is imminent for the driving maneuver conclusion. If it is detected that the new target driving lane has been reached or the new driving direction has been taken and the vehicle is driving in the new driving lane or a parking process has been concluded by the ego vehicle 1 reaching its target position or a parking process has been concluded by the ego vehicle 1 being located in the driving lane adjacent to the leaving parking space, this is detected by the environment sensor 15 and an output signal 13 is output, which is fed to the control device 10 as an input signal 13.In this case, the signal 13 of the environment sensor 15 can also already be output if the driving maneuver has not yet been completely concluded, but the other road users can assume without doubt that the driving maneuver 5, 7 is completely concluded in the next time. Thus, for example, in the event of a lane change, deactivation signal 13 may already be output by environment sensor 15 if host vehicle 1 has reached the new target lane to 60% or to 70% or to 80%, but a small portion of vehicle 1 is still located in the old lane, but the driving maneuver may be concluded immediately. Thus, the deactivation of the active direction indicator signal can be preceded before the driver has to deactivate it manually and had preceded the assistance function, so that this would have lost his benefit.The input signals 12, 13 fed to the input circuit 11 of the control device 10 are passed on from the input circuit 11 to a data exchange device 16, which can be designed, for example, as a bus system internal to the control device. The data exchange device 16 passes the input signals 12, 13 on to a calculation device 17 in which output signals 19 are generated from the input signals 12, 13 or as a function of the input signals 12, 13. The calculation device 17 can be designed, for example, as a microprocessor or as a microcontroller on which the method according to the invention is loaded as software and is ready for execution. Alternatively, the computing device 17 can be a customer-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a freely programmable circuit (FPGA).The output signals 19 generated in the calculation device 17 are in turn forwarded via a data evaluation device 16 to an output circuit 18, which outputs the output signals 19 of the control device to downstream adjusting devices 2. The output signals 19 can either be output as activation signals and deactivation signals to the downstream adjusting devices 2 or be output as a signal as long as the signal 19 is intended to be active.According to the present invention, the following control devices are considered to be the driving direction indicators 2 (indicators) of the ego vehicle 1, which can be activated on the left or right side in order to signal and deactivate the imminent start of a driving maneuver 5, 7 shortly before the driving maneuver 5, 7 is concluded.FIG. 3 shows a flow chart which schematically explains the method according to the invention. The method can be implemented in the form of software in the calculation device 17, for example; alternatively, the method can also be implemented as hard-wired logic in an ASIC or a specific hardware circuit.The method starts in step S 20, for example by starting the ego vehicle 1 and switching on ignition, or activating the terminal 15 contact. As a result, the assistance system is started and the method implemented as software is loaded into the memory of the calculation device 17 designed as a microprocessor. Alternatively, the method can also be started by the driver activating the assistance function, for example by the driver actuating a switch.In the following step S21, it is queried whether the function is activated. This interrogation is necessary since the driver can deactivate the function manually at any time and it must therefore be ensured at the beginning of the cycle that the function was not deactivated at the moment by the driver.If the driver of the ego vehicle has deactivated the function, step S 21 branches to "no" and continues in step S 21. Thus, the system waits until step S21 branches to "yes".If the function is activated, step S 21 branches to "yes" and is continued in the subsequent step S 22. In step S 22, it is checked whether the control element 14 for the direction indicator 2, i.e. the turn signal lever 14, has been actuated by the driver. If this has not been actuated, step S 22 branches to "no" and is continued again in step S 21. If the operating element 14 for the direction indicator 2, i.e. the turn signal lever 14, has been actuated by the driver, for example since a driving maneuver 5, 7 such as a lane change or a direction change or a parking or unparking maneuver plans in the direct future, step S 22 branches to "yes" and is continued in step S 23.In step S 23, the direction indicators 2 on the correspondingly actuated side, i.e. on the left or right of the ego vehicle 1, are activated and remain activated until the direction indicators 2 are automatically deactivated in one of the subsequent steps. Alternatively, after activation in step S 23, the direction indicators 2 can remain activated for a specific duration, in particular for a specific period of time or a specific number of signaling intervals (flashing intervals), and then be automatically deactivated.After activation in step S 23, the method is continued in step S 24, in which the vehicle environment is detected by environment sensor 15 and evaluated to determine whether a driving maneuver of the ego vehicle, i.e., for example, a lane change, a turn, a parking maneuver or a parking maneuver, is detected by sensor data of environment sensor 15.If the environment sensor 15 detects one of the provided driving maneuvers 5, 7 during step S 24, the method according to the present invention is continued in step S 25. In step S 25, it is checked whether the completion of the driving maneuver 5, 7 has been detected or the completion of the driving maneuver has been completed to a predefined degree and is predominantly concluded in the near future. This can be detected, for example, as the completion of the driving maneuver if the lane change or the turning maneuver is completed to 60%, 70%, 80% or 90%. As long as the driving maneuver 5, 7 has not yet been completed or has not yet been completed to the predefined degree (60%, 70%, 80%, 90%), step S 25 branches to "no" and the method branches back to step S 24, in which it is checked in turn whether a driving maneuver is detected.If it was detected in step S 25 that driving maneuver 5, 7 has been completed or has been completed to the predefined degree (60%, 70%, 80%, 90%), step S 25 branches to "yes" and the method is continued in step S 26, in which activated direction indicators 2 of ego vehicle 1 are automatically deactivated. After deactivation of the direction indicators 2 of the ego vehicle 1 in step S 26, the method branches back to step S 21 and can be carried out again for the next driving maneuver 5, 7.In this case, the driver of the vehicle 1 can manually deactivate indicators 2 activated at any time, for example by deactivating the function or ending the instantaneous activation by means of an operating element, for example in the form of the turn signal lever 14.References included in the specificationThis list of documents cited by the applicant has been produced in an automated manner and is only included for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent application or utility model application. The DPMA does not take any adhesion for any faults or omissions.Patent Literature citedDE 103 55 807 A1

[0002] DE 10115551.4

[0011]

Claims

Method for controlling a direction indicator (2) of a vehicle (1), wherein the activation (S23) of the direction indicator (2) takes place by an input signal (12) of a driver-actuatable operating element (14), characterized in that the activated direction indicator (2) is deactivated (S26) when an environment sensor (15) of the vehicle (1) detects the completion (S25) of a driving maneuver (5, 7) of the vehicle (1).Method according to Claim 1, characterized in that the termination (S25) of a driving maneuver (5, 7) consists of reaching the target lane or the end of the turning process or the end of the parking process or parking process.Method according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the completion (S25) of a driving maneuver (5, 7) is detected by the environment sensor (15) by the lane markings or the course of the roadway being detected by means of a front camera.Method according to one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the completion (S25) of a driving maneuver (15) is detected by evaluating the steering angle.Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, after activation of the direction indicator (2) is actuated by an input signal (12) of a driver-actuatable operating element (14), the direction indicator (2) is activated for a specific duration (S23), in particular for a predetermined number of signalling intervals, and, when the predetermined duration has elapsed, in particular when the predetermined number of signalling intervals (S23) has elapsed, it is checked whether the driving maneuver (5, 7) of the vehicle (1) has been concluded and, if the end of the driving maneuver (5, 7) has not yet been detected, the direction indicator (2) remains activated until the conclusion (S25) of the driving maneuver (5, 7) of the vehicle (1) is detected.Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the activation (S23) of the direction indicator (2) is automatically deactivated after a maximum period of time has elapsed.Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the direction indicator (2) can be deactivated manually at any time by the driver.Device for controlling a direction indicator (2) of a vehicle (1), wherein the activation of the direction indicator (2) is supplied to a control device (10) by an input signal (12) which originates from a driver-actuatable operating element (14) and the control device (10) activates the direction indicator (2) on detection of an activation signal (12), characterized in that a signal (13) of a surroundings sensor (15) is supplied to the control device (10), the signal (13) of the surroundings sensor (15) is evaluated as to whether a driving maneuver (5, 7) has been concluded and the control device (10) deactivates the activated direction indicator (2) on detection of the concluded driving maneuver (5, 7).Computer program product which is configured to execute, implement and / or actuate the method according to one of Claims 1 to 7.A machine readable storage medium having stored thereon the computer program product of claim 9.

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