Blind spot detection control device and method

Abstract

To provide a dead angle detection control device which warns a driver of an (own / object) vehicle that an object exists in a dead angle zone on the basis of a fact that determination means determines that the object detected in the dead angle zone is a warning object.SOLUTION: A dead angle detection control device comprises determination means of outputting a result of determination to warning means of warning a driver of a vehicle that an object exists in a dead angle zone on the basis of a fact that the determination means determines that the object detected in the dead angle zone is a warning object, wherein the determination means is constituted to determine whether or not the object detected in the dead angle zone is the warning object by comparing a detection parameter regarding a current object detected in the dead angle zone in a current detection cycle with a detection parameter regarding a reference mobile object corresponding to the object detected in the dead angle zone at least in the previous detection cycle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a blind spot detection control device and method for a vehicle, and further to a driver assistance system for a vehicle equipped with such a blind spot detection control device, a corresponding computer program for executing the blind spot detection method, and a respective computer readable medium. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventional driver assistance systems or advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) for vehicles are widely used in connection with, for example, conventional vehicles as well as autonomous vehicles.

[0003] Many vehicle accidents are caused by human error, which could have been avoided by such advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). Commonly known safety-critical ADAS applications include, for example, pedestrian detection / avoidance, lane departure warning / correction, traffic sign recognition, automatic emergency braking and blind spot detection. Long-range radars are typically used for applications such as emergency brake assist and adaptive cruise control, while short-range radars are often used in conjunction with applications such as blind spot detection (BSD), rear cross traffic alert and lane change assist.

[0004] With regard to blind spot detection, a number of vision-based algorithms are used to assist the vehicle driver in monitoring so-called blind spots, which are areas around the vehicle that the driver cannot directly see with the control device.

[0005] In other words, a blind spot is an area of ​​the road that cannot be seen while looking forward or through either the rearview mirror or side mirror (hoping the side mirrors are properly adjusted on the vehicle). The most common is the rear quarter blind spot, which is the area toward the rear on both sides of the vehicle. Vehicles in adjacent lanes of the road that fall into these blind spots may not be visible through the car's mirrors alone.

[0006] Commonly known blind spot detection systems use sensors to provide drivers with important information that is difficult or impossible to obtain otherwise. For example, short-range radar sensors or camera sensors may be used in conjunction with blind spot detection systems. Some systems sound an alarm when they detect an object in the driver's blind spot, such as when the driver is about to move into an occupied lane. The blind spot detection system may monitor this area. The sensors monitor the road area behind and next to the target vehicle / own vehicle and warn if the vehicle is about to move out of its lane despite there being no gap or objects such as other vehicles. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] Thus, the function of the BSD system is to warn the driver when a moving object like another vehicle is within the BSD zone / area, but in some cases, the moving object within the BSD zone, when moving at a similar speed to the own vehicle / target vehicle (in which the BSD system is installed), may be mistaken as a static object and the warning is erroneously stopped due to this false detection. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The blind spot detection control device according to the present invention is for use with a vehicle and comprises a determination means for determining whether an object detected in a blind spot zone of a (own / target) vehicle during a detection cycle is an object to be warned, and based on the determination means' determination that an object detected in the blind spot zone is an object to be warned, a determination means for outputting a determination result to a warning means for warning a driver of the (own / target) vehicle that an object is present in the blind spot zone, the determination means being configured to determine whether an object detected in the blind spot zone is an object to be warned by comparing detection parameters relating to a current object detected in the blind spot zone during a current detection cycle with detection parameters relating to a reference moving object corresponding to an object detected in the blind spot zone during at least a previous detection cycle.

[0009] According to the blind spot detection control device of the present invention, even if a detected object leaves / goes out of the blind spot detection zone, if it is determined to be a warning target, the blind spot detection warning can be continued to be output. This is because, if the object is determined to be a warning target, a timer is set and a warning is output as long as a certain period of time has elapsed.

[0010] For example, an object can be determined to be an object to be warned if its position and speed are similar to those of a reference moving object, i.e., by comparing the detection parameters of the currently detected object with those of the reference moving object. Therefore, even if the currently detected object may initially be determined to be a stationary object, it is determined to be an object to be warned if its position and speed are similar to those of the reference moving object.

[0011] In other words, if an object is determined to be an alarm object, for example, if an object detected in the blind spot zone / area during at least the previous detection cycle is set as a reference moving object, the reference moving object is kept for a certain period of time even if it moves out of the blind spot detection zone. The reference moving object is initialized / deleted only after the certain period of time has elapsed. As long as the reference moving object is kept and an object similar to the reference moving object (new or the same) is found, the blind spot detection warning continues to be output.

[0012] Regarding the setting and updating of the reference moving object, if the blind spot detection warning is first correctly operated, the currently detected object is set as the reference moving object. If an identified or detected alarm object similar to the set reference moving object remains within a certain time period after the reference moving object disappears or leaves the blind spot detection zone, the object can be set as a new reference moving object, otherwise the reference moving object can be initialized, i.e., erased. This allows a warning in the form of an alarm to be continuously output even in problematic situations. Thus, one of the advantageous effects achieved by the present invention is, for example, avoidance of false detection.

[0013] The blind spot detection control device according to the present invention can be further configured so that the determination means is configured to compare the detection parameters relating to the current object with the detection parameters relating to the reference moving object based on the difference in position coordinates of the object and the reference moving object relative to the (own / target) vehicle and / or the difference in relative speed of the object and the reference moving object relative to the (own / target) vehicle.

[0014] Furthermore, the blind spot detection control device according to the present invention may be implemented such that the determination means is configured to determine that the current object is an alarm object based on a comparison of detection parameters relating to the current object with detection parameters relating to a reference moving object that satisfies one or more predetermined conditions with respect to position coordinates and / or relative speed.

[0015] In this regard, the blind spot detection control device according to the present invention can be realized such that the determination means is configured to determine that the current object is an object to be warned about based on the satisfaction of the following condition:

[0016] Abs(DistX-DistX ref ) <DistX_Thresh、 Abs(DistY -DistY ref ) <DistY_Thresh、 Abs(VrelX-VrelX ref ) <VrelX_Thresh、 Abs(VrelY-VrelY ref ) <VrelY_Thresh、 Where: DistX is the X position of the object relative to the (own / object) vehicle, DistY is the Y position of the object relative to the (own / object) vehicle, DistX ref is the X-position of the reference moving object relative to the (own / target) vehicle, DistY ref is the Y position of the reference moving object relative to the (own / target) vehicle, VrelX is the X-axis relative velocity of the target with respect to the (own / target) vehicle, VrelY is the Y relative velocity of the object with respect to the (own / object) vehicle, VrelX ref is the X-axis relative velocity of the reference moving object with respect to the (own / target) vehicle, VrelY ref is the Y relative velocity of the reference moving object with respect to the (own / target) vehicle, DistX_Thresh is the threshold for the X position difference, DistY_Thresh is the threshold for the Y position difference, VrelX_Thresh is the threshold for the X velocity difference, VrelY_Thresh is the Y velocity difference threshold.

[0017] Further, the blind spot detection control device according to the present invention comprises: Based on the fact that the reference moving object is not currently set and the trigger for causing the warning means to warn the driver of the presence of an object in the blind spot zone is set, setting the current object detected in the blind spot zone during the current detection cycle as the reference moving object, and / or Based on the fact that the reference moving object is currently set but not detected in the blind spot detection zone, and the fact that the current object is determined to be an alarm object in the previous detection cycle, setting the current object detected in the blind spot zone in the current detection cycle as the reference moving object; and / or The system may further include a reference moving object setting / update means configured to initialize / erase the setting of the reference moving object based on the fact that the reference moving object is not currently detected in the blind spot detection zone, that there is no current object determined to be an alarm object in the previous detection cycle, and that the difference between the current time and the time when it was detected that the reference moving object had left the blind spot detection zone exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

[0018] In addition, the blind spot detection control device according to the present invention may be further configured such that the reference moving object setting / updating means is configured to maintain the set reference moving object based on the fact that the reference moving object is not currently detected in the blind spot detection zone, that there is no current object determined to be an alarm object in the previous detection cycle, and that the difference between the current time and the time when the reference moving object was detected to have left the blind spot detection zone is smaller than a predetermined threshold. That is, even if the reference moving object leaves the BSD zone, the reference moving object is not immediately erased. Only after a certain time has passed, the reference moving object that is still outside the BSD zone is erased. Otherwise, if the reference moving object is still set because the specified time has not yet passed, an object having detection parameters similar to those of the reference moving object that is still set may be detected as an alarm object, which may be detected as a stationary object without comparison with the parameters of the set reference moving object, which can be prevented by the present invention.

[0019] A driver assistance system for a vehicle according to the invention may comprise detection means for detecting an object in a blind spot zone of the vehicle during a detection cycle, a blind spot detection device according to the invention, and warning means for warning a driver of the vehicle of the presence of an object in the blind spot zone based on the determination by the determination means of the blind spot detection device that the object detected in the blind spot zone is an object to be warned. The detection means may comprise sensors such as radar sensors, e.g. short-range radar sensors, and / or camera sensors / image sensors, used separately or in combination to detect objects in the blind spot zone / area. For example, the driver assistance system may be part of an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), or in particular a rear cross traffic alert (RCTA) system.

[0020] The driver assistance system according to the present invention is further configured such that the warning means is configured to warn the driver of the vehicle of the presence of an object in the blind spot zone based on the determination means determining that the object detected in the blind spot zone is an object to be warned, and / or keeps the warning turned on / maintained as long as a timer T is greater than 0, the timer T being a function of the following: T=MIN(T MAX ,MAX(T,TTC))-T cycle Updated based on, where, TTC is the time it takes for the object to leave the warning zone. T is the timer length, T MAX is the maximum threshold for the timer length, T cycle is the time length of a detection cycle.

[0021] If no alarm object is detected (flag_NotStatic==False), the timer T is decremented by the time length of the process cycle, i.e., according to the following formula: T=TT cycleIn this case, regardless of whether the warning means has set the warning to on or off by the conventional warning process, as long as the timer T exceeds 0, it either sets the warning to on again or keeps the warning on.

[0022] Regarding the function T = MIN(T MAX , MAX(T, TTC)) - T cycle the following applies.

[0023] Step 1: MAX(T, TTC) returns T if T > TTC, and returns TTC if T < TTC. As a result, if a longer TTC is detected, the timer is extended.

[0024] Step 2: T = MIN(T max , MAX(T, TTC)) returns T if T max < MAX(T, TTC), and returns MAX(T, TTC) if T max > MAX(T, TTC). Therefore, the timer length is kept shorter than T max to reduce the risk of long and incorrect BSD warnings. max

[0025] Step 3: T = T - Tcycle is calculated so that the timer acts as a timer. This calculation is executed regardless of whether an object to be warned about has been detected or not (regardless of the setting of "flag_NotStatic == False" or "flag_NotStatic == True").

[0026] A computer-implemented method for controlling blind spot detection of a vehicle according to the present invention includes the following steps, namely, determining whether an object detected during a detection cycle in a blind spot zone of the vehicle is an object to be warned about; and outputting a result of a determination for warning a driver of the vehicle that an object exists in the blind spot zone based on a determination that an object detected in the blind spot zone is an object to be warned about. It is determined whether an object detected in the blind zone is an alarm object by comparing detection parameters for a current object detected in the blind zone during a current detection cycle with detection parameters for a reference moving object corresponding to an object detected in the blind zone during at least a previous detection cycle.

[0027] The characteristics and advantages described in relation to the blind spot detection control device according to the present invention therefore arise in the same or similar manner in relation to the method for controlling blind spot detection in a vehicle according to the present invention, which is why, to avoid repetition, reference is made to the respective description relating to the blind spot detection control device according to the present invention.

[0028] A computer program according to the invention comprises instructions which cause a computer to carry out a computer-implemented method according to the invention when the program is executed by a computer.

[0029] A computer readable medium according to the invention stores a computer program according to the invention. Effect of the Invention

[0030] Preferred embodiments and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0031] [Figure 1] 4 is a flowchart of an overall process of blind spot detection control according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is a flowchart of an alarm object determination process executed by the overall process of FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] 2 is a flow chart of a blind spot detection warning process performed by the overall process of FIG. 1 . [Figure 4] 3 is a flowchart of a reference moving object setting / update process executed by the alarm object determination process of FIG. 2. [Diagram 5]3 is a flowchart of an object detection process executed by the alarm object determination process of FIG. 2. [Figure 6] 2 is a schematic diagram of a blind spot detection control device according to the invention provided in a driver assistance system according to the invention, configured to carry out the method according to the invention; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0032] With reference to the drawings, one preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be specifically described for illustrative purposes. It will be understood that the components or elements in this embodiment are shown and described by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the present invention thereto.

[0033] Before describing in detail the operation of the blind spot detection control device 10 provided in the driver assistance system 1 according to the present invention using FIGS. 1 to 5, the configuration of the blind spot detection control device 10 according to the present invention will be described in more detail using FIG. 6.

[0034] FIG. 6 shows diagrammatically a blind spot detection control device 10 according to the invention provided in a driver assistance system 1 according to the invention, both of which are arranged to carry out the method according to the invention.

[0035] The driver assistance system 1 is for a vehicle, such as a conventional automobile or an autonomous vehicle, and comprises detection means 60 , a blind spot detection device 10 according to the invention, and warning means 30 .

[0036] The detection means 60 is configured to detect objects such as other vehicles in the blind zones of the own / target vehicle during a detection cycle, for example the detection means 60 comprises in this embodiment a short-range radar sensor for detecting objects such as other vehicles in the blind zones / areas of the own / target vehicle, e.g. blind area located behind and / or to the side of the own / target vehicle in which the driver assistance system 1 is arranged.

[0037] The blind spot detection control device 10 includes a determination means 20, which includes a reference moving object setting / updating means 40 and an object finding means 50. All the components will be described in more detail with reference to Figs. 1 to 5.

[0038] FIG. 1 shows a flow chart of the overall process of blind spot detection control according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is executed by a blind spot detection device 10 and illustrates an operation mode of the blind spot detection device 10 according to the present invention.

[0039] To explain the operation of the blind spot detection system 10, the following conditions are first assumed.

[0040] The host vehicle / target vehicle on which the blind spot detection device 10 is disposed moves at a certain pace, for example, moves forward at a certain speed, and a target object, which is another vehicle, enters the blind spot detection area of ​​the host vehicle, as a result of which, in this embodiment, a blind spot detection alarm is first activated by a conventional blind spot detection warning process.

[0041] The overall process is not intended to forcefully turn off the blind spot detection warning (BSD warning), but to keep the BSD warning on only if the respective conditions that will become clear below are met.

[0042] Therefore, before the overall process is executed, a conventional BSD warning process is executed to determine whether to activate the blind spot detection alarm. As will be seen below, even if it is determined in the conventional BSD warning process not to activate the BSD alarm ("bAlarm" is set to "False"), if there is time remaining in the timer T, the BSD alarm is activated (i.e., "bAlarm" is set to True) and the output of the BSD alarm is maintained. However, as described above, in this case, it is assumed that the blind spot detection alarm was activated in the conventional BSD warning process.

[0043] As can be seen from FIG. 1, when the overall process is started, a first step S10 is performed according to which an alarm object determination process is performed by the determining means 20, which will be described below in conjunction with FIG.

[0044] Then, step S20 is executed, and the warning means 30 executes a blind spot detection warning process for continuing the BSD warning, which will be described later in conjunction with FIG.

[0045] As can be further seen from Fig. 1, the result of the alarm object determination process carried out in step S10 is a data structure in the form of a flag named "flag_NotStatic", which can take two values: "True" and "False". The flag "flag_NotStatic", as seen below, is used in the blind spot detection warning process and means that in the previous detection cycle, an object similar to the reference object was detected ("True") or not ("False").

[0046] Fig. 2 shows a flowchart of a warning target determination process S10 executed by the determination means 20 in the overall process of Fig. 1. This process determines whether or not there is a warning target in a blind spot detection zone (BSD zone), and this determination is made by the determination means 20.

[0047] When the alarm object determination process S10 is started, first, the reference moving object setting or updating process S11 is executed by the reference moving object setting / updating means 40, which will be described later in conjunction with Fig. 4. In the reference moving object setting or updating process S11, a "reference moving object" is set / updated or initialized / erased.

[0048] As can be further seen from FIG. 2, the result of the reference object setting or updating process performed in S11 is a data structure in the form of a flag named "bRefSet", which can take two values: "True" and "False". The flag "bRefSet" is used to indicate whether the reference object is set ("True") or not, i.e., initialized / cleared ("False"). If the reference object is set to "True", an object is detected in the BSD zone, and if it is set to "False", an object is not detected in the BSD zone.

[0049] In the next step S12, it is determined whether or not a reference moving object has been set, that is, whether "bRefSet" has been set to "True" or "False".

[0050] If in step S12 it is determined that the reference moving object has been set (BRefSet==True), the procedure proceeds to step S13 and an object detection process is performed by the object detection means 50, which will be further described in connection with FIG. 5.

[0051] If it is determined in step S12 that the reference moving object is not set, i.e., initialized / erased (BRefSet==False), the procedure proceeds to step S16, where a data structure in the form of a flag named "flag_NotStatic" is set to "False" (flag_NotStatic=False), which means that as a result of the reference moving object not being set ("bRefSet==False"), no object similar to the reference moving object is found. After step S16, the alarm object determination process is terminated.

[0052] In step S13, an object detection process is executed by the object detection means 50, and the result is whether or not an alarm object is detected. In step S13, if an alarm object is detected, the flag "flag_NotStatic" is set to "True", and if not detected, the flag is set to "False".

[0053] In the next step S14 it is determined whether an object to be alarmed was found in step S13. If an object to be alarmed was found the procedure proceeds to step S15 where it is determined that the flag "flag_NotStatic" is set to "True". If an object to be alarmed was not found the procedure proceeds to step S16 as described above where it is determined that the flag "flag_NotStatic" is set to "False". The procedure then ends.

[0054] Next, step S11 in FIG. 2 in which the reference moving object setting or updating process is executed will be further described with reference to FIG.

[0055] Fig. 4 shows a flowchart of the reference moving object setting or updating process S11 executed in the alarm object determination process of Fig. 2. The reference moving object setting or updating process S11 is executed by the reference moving object setting / updating means 40, as described above.

[0056] As can be seen from FIG. 4, in step S111, it is determined whether the flag "bRefSet" is set to "True" ("False"), that is, whether a reference moving object is set or not.

[0057] If it is determined that "bRefSet" is set to "True", the procedure proceeds to step S113, where it is determined whether the reference moving object is present within a blind spot detection zone (BSD zone), and the detection is performed by the detection means 60.

[0058] If it is determined in step S113 that the reference moving object is within the blind spot detection zone ("True"), the reference moving object setting or updating process S11 ends, and the currently set reference moving object remains as it is.

[0059] If it is determined that the reference moving object is not within the blind spot detection zone ("False"), the procedure proceeds to step S114.

[0060] In step S114, it is determined whether the flag "flag_NotStatic" is set to "True" ("False"). If the flag "flag_NotStatic" is set to "True", that is, if an object similar to the reference moving object was found in the blind spot detection zone in the previous detection cycle, the procedure proceeds to step S117.

[0061] In step S117, the object detected in the previous detection cycle is set as a new reference moving object, and the flag “bRefSet” is set to “True.” In other words, the reference moving object setting / updating means 40 is configured to set the current object detected in the blind spot zone in the current detection cycle as the reference moving object if the reference moving object is currently set but not detected in the blind spot detection zone and was determined to be an alarm object in the previous detection cycle.

[0062] On the other hand, if in step S114 it is determined that the flag "flag_NotStatic" is set to "False" rather than "True", the procedure proceeds to step S115, which means that no object similar to the reference moving object was found in the previous detection cycle.

[0063] In step S115, the following conditions are determined:

[0064] T now -T ref_exit >T0 Here, T now corresponds to the current time, and T ref_exitcorresponds to the time when the reference moving object leaves / disappears from the BSD zone, and T0 corresponds to the threshold time for finding a new reference moving object.

[0065] In other words, at time T now (This is at time T ref_exit (later than time T ref_exit If the difference between the detected object and the detected object exceeds the threshold value T0, ie, for example, if no object has been detected for a certain period of time, the procedure proceeds to step S116 ("True" in step S115).

[0066] In step S116, the reference moving object setting / update means 40 initializes / erases the setting of the reference moving object if the reference moving object is not currently detected in the blind spot detection zone, the current object was not determined to be an alarm object in the previous detection cycle, and the difference between the current time and the time when it was detected that the reference moving object had left the blind spot detection zone exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

[0067] Time T now and time T ref_exit If the difference does not exceed the threshold value T0 ("False" in step S115), the reference moving object setting or updating process S11 is terminated, that is, the reference moving object is maintained as it is for the time being.

[0068] In other words, the reference moving object setting / update means 40 maintains the set reference moving object when the reference moving object is not currently detected in the blind spot detection zone, and the current object was not determined to be an alarm object in the previous detection cycle, and the difference between the current time and the time when it was detected that the reference moving object had left the blind spot detection zone is smaller than a predetermined threshold value.

[0069] Returning to step S111, if it is determined that the flag "bRefSet" is set to "False" instead of "True", the procedure proceeds to step S112, where it is determined whether the flag "bAlarm" is set to "True", which is a global flag to indicate that if it is set to "True", the blind spot detection alarm is turned on, and if it is set to "False", the blind spot detection alarm is turned off. In this case, if the object correctly triggered the blind spot detection alarm in the conventional BSD warning process, "bAlarm" should be set to "True".

[0070] If it is determined in step S112 that "bAlarm" is set to "True," the procedure proceeds to step S117 described above. In this case, since the reference moving object is not set and "bAlarm" is set to "True," the object that first activated the blind spot detection alarm is set as the reference moving object.

[0071] In other words, the reference moving object setting / update means 40 is configured to set the current object detected in the blind spot zone during the current detection cycle as the reference moving object when a reference moving object is not currently set and a trigger is set to cause the warning means to warn the driver that an object is present in the blind spot zone.

[0072] If it is determined in step S112 that "bAlarm" is not set to "True" ("False"), the reference moving object setting or updating process S11 ends.

[0073] Next, the object finding process S13 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 5, which shows a flowchart of the object finding process S13 executed by the object finding means 50 in the alarm object determination process of FIG.

[0074] When the object discovery process S13 is started, first, step S131 is executed to determine whether the reference moving object is in the blind spot detection zone. If the reference moving object is in the blind spot detection zone ("True" in step S131), the procedure proceeds to step S132. On the other hand, if the reference moving object is not in the blind spot detection zone ("False" in step S131), the object discovery process S13 is terminated.

[0075] In step S132, a process for finding a (new) object in the blind spot detection zone is executed by the object finding means 50. Essentially, the object finding means 50 of the determination means 20 compares the detection parameters for the current object with the detection parameters for the reference moving object based on the difference in position coordinates of the object and the reference moving object relative to the vehicle and the difference in relative speed of the object and the reference moving object relative to the vehicle. More specifically, the object finding means 50 of the determination means 20 determines that the current object is an alarm object if the comparison between the detection parameters for the current object and the detection parameters for the reference moving object satisfies two predetermined conditions regarding the position coordinates and the relative speed.

[0076] More specifically, a (new) object is determined when the detected object (the object being compared) satisfies the criteria for "position check" and "speed check" (the above conditions), which are described in more detail below.

[0077] Position Check: Abs(DistX-DistX ref ) <DistX_Thresh Abs(DistY -DistY ref ) <DistY_Thresh Speed ​​Check: Abs(VrelX-VrelX ref ) <VrelX_Thresh Abs(VrelY-VrelY ref ) <VrelY_Thresh The formulas used for the "position check" and "speed check" are as follows:

[0078] Abs(Value): Absolute value of "Value" DistX: X position of the object relative to the ego / object vehicle, DistY: Y position of the object relative to the ego / object vehicle, DistX ref : X-position of the reference moving object relative to the own vehicle / target vehicle, DistY ref : Y position of the reference moving object relative to the own vehicle / target vehicle, VrelX: X-relative velocity of the target relative to the ego / target vehicle, VrelY: Y relative velocity of the target to the ego / target vehicle, VrelX ref : X-axis relative velocity of the reference moving object with respect to the own vehicle / target vehicle, VrelY ref : Y relative speed of the reference moving object with respect to the own vehicle / target vehicle, DistX_Thresh: Threshold for X position difference, DistY_Thresh: Y position difference threshold, VrelX_Thresh: X velocity difference threshold, VrelY_Thresh: Y velocity difference threshold.

[0079] If the detected object satisfies the above criteria, flag_NotStatic is set to "True", otherwise Flag_NotStatic is set to "False". Then, the object finding process S13 is terminated and the procedure proceeds to step S14 of FIG. 2 as described above.

[0080] Returning to FIG. 1 again, after performing step S10 in the overall process, the procedure proceeds to step S20, where the blind spot detection warning process is performed by the warning means 30 with "flag_NotStatic" set to either "True" or "False" as shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of the blind spot detection warning process S20 performed by the warning means 30 in the overall process of FIG. 1. The warning means 30 is configured to warn the vehicle driver that an object exists in the blind spot zone when the determining means 20 determines that the object detected in the blind spot zone is an alarm object, and / or keeps the BSD warning on / maintained as long as the timer T is greater than 0, and the timer T is updated based on the function shown below. In other words, for example, if the conventional BSD warning process turns off the BSD warning because no object is detected in the BSD zone / area, the blind spot detection warning process according to the present invention sets the BSD warning on in either case as long as the timer T is greater than 0 (bAlarm=True).

[0081] That is, when the blind spot detection warning process S20 is started, first, step S21 is executed to determine whether flag_NotStatic is set to "True" ("False"). If flag_NotStatic is set to "True", the procedure proceeds to step S22, where the timer T is updated. If not, the procedure proceeds to step S25, where the timer T is updated to the process cycle T cycle That is, the following formula: T=TT cycle In other words, if no alarm object is detected (if flag_NotStatic==False), the timer T is decremented by the process cycle T cycle For the duration of time, i.e., T = TT cycle is deducted according to

[0082] In step S22, a timer T update function is performed as follows.

[0083] T=MIN(TMAX , MAX(T, TTC)) - T cycle In the above timer update function, the following formula is used.

[0084] TTC: Time until the object exits the warning zone T: Timer length, T MAX : Maximum threshold of the timer length, T cycle : Time length of the process cycle Function T = MIN(T MAX , MAX(T, TTC)) - T cycle Regarding this, the following applies.

[0085] Step 1: MAX(T, TTC) returns T if T > TTC, and returns TTC if T < TTC. As a result, when a longer TTC is detected, the timer is extended.

[0086] Step 2: T = MIN(T max , MAX(T, TTC)) returns T max if T max < MAX(T, TTC), and returns MAX(T, TTC) if T max > MAX(T, TTC). Therefore, the timer length is kept shorter than T max to reduce the risk of long and incorrect BSD warnings.

[0087] Step 3: T=T-Tcycle is calculated so that the timer acts as a timer. This calculation is performed regardless of whether an alarm object is detected (regardless of the setting of "flag_NotStatic==False" or "flag_NotStatic==True"). After the timer T is updated, the procedure proceeds to step S23, where it is determined whether the remaining time of the timer T is greater than 0. If T is greater than 0, the procedure proceeds to step S24, where bAlarm is set to "True", which indicates that the blind spot detection alarm is turned on or kept on in case the conventional BSD alarm process turned off the blind spot detection alarm (bAlarm is set to "False") in case an object is not currently detected. Otherwise, the procedure skips step S24 and ends the blind spot detection alarm process S20.

[0088] Returning again to FIG. 1, after step S20 is performed, the overall process is completed and executed again in the designated cycle.

[0089] The features of the invention disclosed in the foregoing description, in the drawings and in the claims may be essential both individually and in any combination for realizing the invention.

Claims

1. A blind spot detection control device (10) for use with a vehicle, comprising: a determination means (20) for determining whether an object detected in a blind spot zone of the vehicle during a detection cycle is an object to be warned, and for outputting a result of the determination to a warning means (30) for warning a driver of the vehicle that an object is present in the blind spot zone, based on the determination by the determination means (20) that the object detected in the blind spot zone is an object to be warned; The blind spot detection control device (10), wherein the determination means (20) is configured to determine whether an object detected in the blind spot zone is an alarm object by comparing detection parameters related to a current object detected in the blind spot zone during a current detection cycle with detection parameters related to a reference moving object corresponding to an object detected in the blind spot zone during at least a previous detection cycle.

2. The blind spot detection control device (10) of claim 1, wherein the determination means (20) is configured to compare the detection parameters relating to the current object with the detection parameters relating to the reference moving object based on a difference in position coordinates of the object and the reference moving object relative to the vehicle and / or a difference in relative speed of the object and the reference moving object relative to the vehicle.

3. The blind spot detection control device (10) of claim 2, wherein the determination means (20) is configured to determine that the current object is an alarm object based on a comparison between the detection parameters relating to the current object and the detection parameters relating to the reference moving object that satisfies one or more predetermined conditions with respect to the position coordinates and / or relative velocity.

4. The determination means (20) determines whether the following conditions are met: Abs(DistX−DistXref)<DistX_Thresh, Abs(DistY−DistYref)<DistY_Thresh, Abs(VrelX−VrelXref)<VrelX_Thresh, Abs(VrelY−VrelYref)<VrelY_Thresh, is configured to determine that the current object is an alarm object based on the satisfaction of DistX is the X position of the object relative to the vehicle; DistY is the Y position of the object relative to the vehicle; DistXref is the X-position of the reference moving object relative to the vehicle; DistYref is the Y position of the reference moving object relative to the vehicle; VrelX is the X relative velocity of the object with respect to the vehicle; VrelY is the Y relative velocity of the object with respect to the vehicle; VrelXref is the X-relative velocity of the reference moving object with respect to the vehicle; VrelYref is the Y relative velocity of the reference moving object with respect to the vehicle, DistX_Thresh is the threshold for the X position difference, DistY_Thresh is the Y position difference threshold, VrelX_Thresh is the threshold for the X velocity difference; 4. The blind spot detection control apparatus of claim 3, wherein VrelY_Thresh is a Y velocity difference threshold.

5. setting a current object detected in the blind spot zone during a current detection cycle as the reference moving object based on the fact that a reference moving object is not currently set and a trigger is set to cause the warning means to warn the driver of the presence of an object in the blind spot zone; and / or Based on the fact that the reference moving object is currently set but not detected in the blind zone, and the fact that the current object was determined to be an alarm object in the previous detection cycle, setting the current object detected in the blind zone in the current detection cycle as the reference moving object; and / or A blind spot detection control device (10) as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a reference moving object setting / update means (40) configured to initialize the setting of the reference moving object based on the fact that the reference moving object is not currently detected in the blind spot zone, that there is no current object determined to be an alarm object in the previous detection cycle, and that the difference between the current time and the time when it was detected that the reference moving object has left the blind spot zone exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

6. The blind spot detection control device (10) of claim 5, wherein the reference moving object setting / updating means (40) is configured to maintain the set reference moving object based on the following: the reference moving object is not currently detected in the blind spot zone; there is no current object determined to be an alarm object in the previous detection cycle; and the difference between the current time and the time at which it was detected that the reference moving object had left the blind spot zone is less than the predetermined threshold value.

7. A driver assistance system (1) for a vehicle, comprising: detection means (60) for detecting objects in blind zones of said vehicle during a detection cycle; A blind spot detection control device (10) according to claim 1, and a warning means (30) for warning a driver of the vehicle that an object is present in the blind spot zone, based on a determination by the determination means (20) of the blind spot detection control device (10) that the object detected in the blind spot zone is an object to be warned about.

8. The warning means (30) is configured to warn the driver of the vehicle of the presence of an object in the blind spot zone based on the determination by the determination means (20) that the object detected in the blind spot zone is an object to be warned, and / or to keep the warning maintained as long as a timer T exceeds 0, and the timer T is calculated based on the following function, i.e. T=MIN(T ＭＡＸ ,MAX(T,TTC))-T ｃｙｃｌｅ Updated based on, where, TTC is the time it takes for the object to leave the warning zone. T is the timer length, T ＭＡＸ is the maximum threshold for the timer length, T ｃｙｃｌｅ 8. A driver assistance system (1) according to claim 7, wherein: is the time length of a detection cycle.

9. 1. A computer-implemented method for controlling blind spot detection in a vehicle, comprising the steps of: The method includes a step of determining whether an object detected in a blind spot zone of the vehicle during a detection cycle is an object to be warned, and a step of outputting a result of the determination for warning a driver of the vehicle that an object is present in the blind spot zone, based on the determination that the object detected in the blind spot zone is an object to be warned, A computer-implemented method in which it is determined whether an object detected in the blind zone is an alarm object by comparing detection parameters for a current object detected in the blind zone during a current detection cycle with detection parameters for a reference moving object corresponding to an object detected in the blind zone during at least a previous detection cycle.

10. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by the computer, cause the computer to perform the computer-implemented method of claim 9.

11. A computer readable medium storing a computer program according to claim 10.

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