Vehicles with cargo space

Abstract

To provide a vehicle containing a cargo space.SOLUTION: The present invention relates to a vehicle 1 comprising a cargo space 6 and a cargo monitoring system for detecting a cargo 8 within the cargo space 6. The cargo monitoring system comprises: a first sensor device 10; a second sensor device 12; and an evaluation device 14. It is proposed that in order to reliably detect the movement of a cargo within the cargo space, the first sensor device 10 is configured to sense the cargo 8 at a first position; the second sensor device 12 is configured to sense the cargo 8 at a second position spaced apart from the first position; and the evaluation device 14 is configured to output a warning signal based on a time sequential order of sensing of the cargo 8 by the first sensor device 10 and the second sensor device 12. Moreover, the present invention relates to a method for detecting movement of the cargo 8 within the cargo space 6 of the vehicle 1.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle including a cargo space and including a cargo monitoring system for detecting cargo within the cargo space, the cargo monitoring system having a first sensor device, a second sensor device, and an evaluation device. The present invention further relates to a method for detecting movement of cargo within a cargo space of a vehicle, the cargo being detected at a first location within the cargo space. [Background technology]

[0002] Such vehicles are known as commercial vehicles, i.e. trucks, and the sensor device is used to detect whether cargo in the rear area of ​​the vehicle has fallen out of the cargo area, so that if such a cargo loss occurs, the driver of the commercial vehicle can thus be informed thereof, for example by a warning message. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0003] The object of the invention is to provide a vehicle of the type mentioned in the introduction, which makes it possible to reliably detect the movement of cargo in the cargo space. In addition, the object of the invention is to identify a reliable method for detecting the movement of cargo in the cargo space of a vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0004] The above-mentioned first objective is achieved by the present invention in that a first sensor device is configured to sense cargo at a first position, a second sensor device is configured to sense cargo at a second position spaced apart from the first position, and an evaluation device is configured to output an alarm signal based on a chronological order of sensing of the cargo by the first sensor device and the second sensor device.

[0005] A particular advantage of the vehicle according to the invention is that a warning is not issued only if, for example, cargo falls out of the cargo space, but a warning signal is already output when it is detected (i.e. detected by the evaluation device) that the cargo is moving, since the cargo is sensed at different times by the first and the second sensor device. Advantageously, in the vehicle according to the invention, for example, an unstable driving state of the vehicle, due to cargo slipping, can therefore already be predicted at a very early stage and said state can lead to a warning signal. The invention not only improves, for example, the information available to the driver of the vehicle, but also increases the driving safety of the vehicle in particular and additionally road safety.

[0006] The vehicle may in particular be a commercial motor vehicle, such as a truck or a tractor unit, or a commercial motor vehicle trailer, such as an articulated drawbar trailer or semi-trailer, i.e. the vehicle does not necessarily have to be self-propelled. The vehicle may for example be an articulated vehicle consisting of a truck and a trailer or an articulated vehicle consisting of a tractor unit and a semi-trailer. The cargo space may for example be closed or open on top. The cargo is preferably general cargo, for example a more or less cubic load (e.g. loaded transport pallets). However, the cargo may in principle also be bulk cargo.

[0007] The first sensor device is configured to sense the cargo at a first location, in particular at a first time point, and the second sensor device is configured to sense the cargo at a second location, in particular at another second time point different from the first time point, the second location being spaced apart from the first location, i.e. the first location and the second location are therefore different.

[0008] The evaluation device is configured to output an alert signal based on a chronological order of sensing of the cargo by the first sensor device and the second sensor device, i.e. the cargo is first sensed by one of the two sensor devices and then by the other sensor device.

[0009] The warning signal may be, for example, a visual signal displayed to the vehicle driver at the driver's workstation in the vehicle or, for example, an audible signal. The sensing of cargo by the two sensor devices at different times is an indication of cargo movement and leads to the output of a warning signal.

[0010] According to one advantageous development of the invention, the second sensor device is configured to sense cargo at a cargo space boundary of the cargo space, and the first sensor device is configured to sense cargo at a distance from the cargo space boundary, and the evaluation device is configured to output a warning signal or an additional warning signal if the cargo is first sensed by the first sensor device, then by the second sensor device, and then no longer sensed by the first sensor device. This is particularly advantageous in that, for example, not only does cargo slipping generally lead to a warning signal, but the warning signal additionally indicates that the cargo is moving at the cargo space boundary and thus that the cargo has already been lost or at least is about to be lost. In this development, the warning signal is therefore also additionally a cargo loss signal. It is alternatively possible for the warning signal according to this development to be an additional warning signal, such that the warning signal generally indicates the movement of the cargo and the additional warning signal indicates the loss of the cargo. According to this development, the second sensor device is configured to sense cargo at the cargo space boundary, which includes sensing cargo at a short distance from the cargo space boundary or near or adjacent to the cargo space boundary. The cargo space may be open (e.g. having an open cargo area) or closed (e.g. delimited by a cargo space door or tail lift or vehicle panel) at the cargo space boundary. According to this development, the first sensor device is configured to sense cargo at a distance from the cargo space boundary, i.e. at a greater distance from the cargo space boundary than the second sensor device.

[0011] The cargo space boundary is conceivably formed, for example, by a side panel of the vehicle. In contrast, according to one development of the invention, it is particularly advantageous if the cargo space boundary is a loading opening of the cargo space. That cargo space boundary is the most vulnerable in terms of its stability due to the regular opening and closing which necessarily occurs when loading and unloading the vehicle and can therefore be monitored in a particularly reliable manner. The cargo space boundary can be closed, for example, by a cargo space door or, for example, a cargo space tailgate, for example a tail lift. In this case, the cargo space boundary is formed by the cargo space door in the closed state or the cargo space tailgate in the closed state. In the event of a cargo being moved, there is a risk that such a cargo space door or cargo space tailgate, especially if it is not properly locked after closing, will be pushed open by the cargo and, as a result, there is a risk that the cargo will fall out of the cargo space.

[0012] According to another development of the invention, if the first sensor device and / or the second sensor device each have a row of sensors, i.e. the sensor elements of each sensor device are arranged linearly, a simplified design of the cargo monitoring system and at the same time an effective sensing of cargo movements is advantageously achieved, where the row of sensors has at least two sensor elements.

[0013] According to an advantageous development of the invention, the first sensor device and / or the second sensor device are arranged on the cargo space floor of the cargo space or on the cargo space ceiling of the cargo space, respectively. In this way, the risk of the respective sensor device being damaged, for example during loading and unloading operations or by the cargo itself, can be effectively reduced. Such a sensor device, for example, has a reflective light barrier and its transmitter and receiver are arranged on the cargo space ceiling.

[0014] According to another advantageous development of the invention, a particularly inexpensive and simple design of the cargo monitoring system can be realized if the first sensor device comprises at least one optical sensor and / or the second sensor device comprises at least one optical sensor. Such a sensor device with an optical sensor can be or can comprise, for example, a camera including an image evaluation device or a light barrier.

[0015] According to another advantageous development of the invention, the vehicle has a motion monitoring device, which is configured to sense a motion state of the vehicle, and the evaluation device is configured to output a warning signal based on the motion state of the vehicle sensed by the motion monitoring device. Such a motion state can be, for example, a stationary state or a moving vehicle. The warning signal according to the invention is output by the evaluation device based on the motion state of the vehicle sensed by the motion monitoring device, the same applies to the above-mentioned additional warning signals which may optionally be present. The motion monitoring device and the sensing of the motion state of the vehicle can be advantageously and additionally used to prevent false reports (i.e. misleading warning signals), for example during loading or unloading operations, where a movement of cargo naturally occurs.

[0016] The above-mentioned second object is achieved according to the invention by a method of the kind mentioned at the outset, in which cargo is sensed in a cargo space at a second location spaced apart from the first location, and a warning signal is generated when the cargo is sensed in a chronological order first at one of the two locations and then at the other of the two locations. In this case, a first sensor device is preferably used to sense the cargo at the first location. A second sensor device is preferably used to sense the cargo at the second location. The cargo is thus sensed in a chronological order, in particular first by the first sensor device and then thereafter by the second sensor device. Due to the chronological order provided according to the invention, a warning signal is issued if the cargo moves.

[0017] According to one advantageous development of the invention, the second location is arranged at a cargo space boundary of the cargo space and the first location is arranged at a distance from the cargo space boundary, and the warning signal or the additional warning signal is generated if cargo is first sensed at the first location, then at the second location and then no longer sensed at the first location. In this way, the warning signal or the additional warning signal is additionally also a cargo loss signal.

[0018] According to another advantageous development of the invention, in order to simplify the signal generation and make the warning signal easily detectable, for example by the vehicle driver, the generated warning signal is a visual and / or audible signal. The same applies to the above-mentioned additional warning signals which may optionally be present. A visual signal can be, for example, the lighting up of a symbol on a display of the vehicle's driver's workstation. An audible signal can be, for example, the output of a warning sound by an audio element, such as a speaker, of the driver's workstation.

[0019] According to another advantageous development of the invention, the motion state of the vehicle is sensed and a warning signal is generated only if the detected motion state is a driving operation of the vehicle. The same applies to the above-mentioned additional warning signals that may optionally be present. The motion state is, for example, a stationary state of the vehicle or a driving operation of the vehicle. The driving operation corresponds to the driving of the vehicle. The driving operation can be sensed, for example, by a motion monitoring device of the vehicle. This development of the invention advantageously additionally enables the prevention of erroneous reports, in particular misleading warning signals, for example during loading or unloading operations of the vehicle.

[0020] The invention also comprises developments of the method according to the invention which have the features as already mentioned in connection with the developments of the vehicle according to the invention and vice versa, for which reason the corresponding developments of the method according to the invention or the vehicle according to the invention will not be mentioned again here.

[0021] The present invention also includes combinations of features of the described embodiments.

[0022] Exemplary embodiments of the invention are described in more detail below on the basis of simplified and schematic drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0023] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 shows a side view of a vehicle including a cargo monitoring system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 shows a top view of the vehicle according to FIG. [Diagram 3] 2 shows a rear view of the vehicle according to FIG. 1. [Figure 4] A semi-trailer loaded with cargo is shown in the first position. [Diagram 5] The semi-trailer according to FIG. 4 is shown loaded with cargo in a second position. [Figure 6] The semi-trailer according to FIG. 4 is shown loaded with cargo in a third position. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0024] Corresponding elements are given the same reference numbers in all the figures.

[0025] 1 shows a side view of a vehicle 1 which in this exemplary embodiment is a commercial vehicle, i.e. in particular a combination vehicle, here in the form of a tractor unit 2 to which is attached a semi-trailer 4. The vehicle 1, i.e. more particularly the semi-trailer 4 of the vehicle 1, has a cargo monitoring system for detecting a cargo space 6 and cargo 8 within the cargo space 6.

[0026] The cargo monitoring system comprises a first sensor device 10 and a second sensor device 12. Furthermore, the cargo monitoring system comprises an evaluation device 14. In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, the evaluation device 14 is arranged in the tractor unit 2 of the vehicle 1. However, in alternative exemplary embodiments the evaluation device 14 may for example be arranged in the semi-trailer 4.

[0027] The first sensor device 10 is configured to sense cargo 8 at a first location within the cargo space 6 of the semi-trailer 4. The second sensor device 12 is configured to sense cargo 8 at a second location within the cargo space 6 of the semi-trailer 4, the second location being spaced apart from the first location. The evaluation device 14 is configured to output a warning signal based on a chronological order of sensing of the cargo 8 by the first sensor device 10 and the second sensor device 12.

[0028] In the configuration shown here, a warning signal is therefore output in case of movement of cargo 8 towards a cargo space boundary 16 of the cargo space 6. The cargo space boundary 16 is here formed by the loading opening of the cargo space 6. In this exemplary embodiment, the cargo space opening is closed by cargo space doors 18, 20 (see FIG. 3 ), whereby the cargo space doors 18, 20 also form the cargo space boundary 16 in the closed state shown here.

[0029] The second sensor device 12 is configured to sense the cargo 8 at a cargo space boundary 16 of the cargo space 6 and the first sensor device 10 is configured to sense the cargo 8 at a distance from the cargo space boundary 16. Furthermore, in this exemplary embodiment, the evaluation device 14 is configured to output an additional warning signal if the cargo 8 is first sensed by the first sensor device 10, then by the second sensor device 12 and finally is no longer sensed by the first sensor device 10.

[0030] This additional warning signal is a cargo loss signal because it means that cargo 8 in cargo space 6 has moved towards the cargo space boundary 16, i.e. in the direction of the right arrow of the double-headed arrow 22 depicted in Figure 1 for clarity, and has crossed the cargo space boundary 16 in the course of further movement of cargo 8, and has therefore fallen out of cargo space 6, or at least is about to fall out of cargo space 6. In this exemplary embodiment, cargo 8 pushes open the cargo space doors 18, 20 as it moves.

[0031] In this exemplary embodiment, both the first sensor device 10 and the second sensor device 12 each have an array of sensors (see FIG. 2). The first sensor device 10 is here arranged on the cargo space floor 24 of the cargo space 6. The second sensor device 12 is arranged on the cargo space ceiling 26 of the cargo space 6. As an example, the first sensor device 10 and / or the second sensor device 12 may have an array of reflective light barriers or be in the form of a light grid, for example.

[0032] The vehicle 1 further includes a motion monitoring device 28. The motion monitoring device 28 is connected to the evaluation unit 14 for signaling purposes. The motion monitoring device 28 is configured to sense a motion state of the vehicle 1, and the evaluation unit 14 is configured to output a warning signal and an additional warning signal based on the motion state of the vehicle 1 sensed by the motion monitoring device 28.

[0033] The warning signal (as well as the additional warning signal) may be displayed visually, for example by a display arranged at the driver's workstation 30 in the tractor unit 2 of the vehicle 1. By way of example, the warning signal may alternatively or additionally be audibly communicated to the driver of the vehicle 1, for example by an audio element arranged at the driver's workstation 30.

[0034] Figures 4 to 6 show the sequence of a method for detecting the movement of cargo 8 in a cargo space 6 of a vehicle 1 (see Figure 1), i.e. here the cargo space 6 of a semi-trailer 4. The cargo 8 is first sensed at a first position (see Figure 4) in the cargo space 6 by a first sensor device 10. The first position is located at a certain distance from the cargo space boundary 16.

[0035] The cargo 8 is then sensed by a second sensor device 12 at a second location within the cargo space 6 that is spaced from the first location (see FIG. 5 ). A warning signal is generated and output, for example to the driver of the vehicle, indicating the movement of the cargo 8 within the cargo space 6. The second location is located proximate to the cargo space boundary 16 of the cargo space 6, or more specifically, the cargo space boundary 16 of the cargo space 6.

[0036] In the next method step, as the cargo 8 moves out of the cargo space 6 in the direction of the arrow 32 (see FIG. 4 ), it continues to be sensed in the second position by the second sensor device 12 but is no longer sensed in the first position by the first sensor device 10 (see FIG. 6 ). In this case, a warning signal is generated, which is a cargo lost signal, indicating that the cargo 8 has completely fallen out of the cargo space 6 or is at least about to fall out.

[0037] This warning signal may be generated in the form of a single warning signal indicating the movement of cargo 8 within the cargo space 6 (e.g. in the form of a visual signal, e.g. with increased flashing frequency or e.g. in the form of an audible signal with increased volume) or may be additional warning signals as described above with respect to Figures 1 to 3.

[0038] As shown based on an exemplary embodiment, a warning signal is reliably generated using simple means in the vehicle 1 and in an equally simple manner in case of movement of cargo 8 in the cargo space 6 of the vehicle 1 and additionally and optionally also in case of the cargo 8 falling out of the cargo space 6. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 1 vehicle 2 Tractor Unit 4 Semi-trailer 6 Cargo Space 8 Cargo 10 First Sensor Device 12 Second Sensor Device 14 Evaluation equipment 16 Cargo Space Boundary 18 Cargo space door 20 Cargo space door 22 Double-headed arrow 24 Cargo space floor 26 Cargo space ceiling 28 Motion Monitoring Devices 30 workstations 32 Arrow

Claims

1. 1. A vehicle (1), in particular a land vehicle, in particular a commercial vehicle, comprising a cargo space (6) and comprising a cargo monitoring system for detecting cargo (8) in the cargo space (6), the cargo monitoring system having a first sensor device (10), a second sensor device (12) and an evaluation device (14), the first sensor device (10) configured to detect the cargo (8) at a first position and the second sensor device (12) configured to detect the cargo at a second position spaced from the first position, the evaluation device (14) configured to output a warning signal based on a chronological order of detection of the cargo (8) by the first sensor device (10) and the second sensor device (12).

2. 2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the second sensor device (12) is configured to sense the cargo (8) at a cargo space boundary (16) of the cargo space (6), the first sensor device (10) is configured to sense the cargo (8) at a distance from the cargo space boundary (16), and the evaluation device (14) is configured to output the warning signal or an additional warning signal when the cargo (8) is first sensed by the first sensor device (10), then by the second sensor device (12), and then is no longer sensed by the first sensor device (10).

3. 3. The vehicle of claim 2, wherein the cargo space boundary (16) is a loading opening of the cargo space (6).

4. 2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the first sensor device (10) and / or the second sensor device (12) each comprises an array of sensors.

5. 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the first sensor device (10) and / or the second sensor device (12) are arranged on a cargo space floor (24) of the cargo space (6) or on a cargo space ceiling (26) of the cargo space (6), respectively.

6. 2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the first sensor device (10) comprises at least one optical sensor and / or the second sensor device (12) comprises at least one optical sensor.

7. 2. The vehicle of claim 1, further comprising an operation monitoring device (28) configured to sense an operation state of the vehicle (1), and the evaluation device (14) configured to output the warning signal based on the operation state of the vehicle (1) sensed by the operation monitoring device (28).

8. 10. A method for detecting movement of cargo (8) in a cargo space (6) of a vehicle (1), in particular a vehicle (1) as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the cargo (8) is sensed at a first location in the cargo space (6) and the cargo (8) is sensed at a second location in the cargo space (6) spaced from the first location, and a warning signal is generated when the cargo (8) is sensed, in chronological order, first at one of the two locations and then at the other of the two locations.

9. 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the second location is located at a cargo space boundary (16) of the cargo space (6) and the first location is located at a distance from the cargo space boundary (16), and the warning signal or an additional warning signal is generated when the cargo (8) is first sensed at the first location, then at the second location, and then no longer sensed at the first location.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the generated warning signal is a visual and / or audible signal.

11. 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein a motion state of the vehicle (1) is sensed and the warning signal is generated only if the sensed motion state is a driving motion of the vehicle (1).

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