Vehicle Door Locking Logic for Cyclist Dooring Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
The frequent occurrence of 'dooring' incidents, where a driver opens a car door into the path of a cyclist, poses a significant risk of accidents, with cyclists often avoiding the door by veering into traffic, leading to potential collisions.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle-mounted system that includes sensors and algorithms to detect cyclists and assess the probability of a dooring incident, temporarily locking doors if the risk is high, and providing notifications to occupants to prevent door opening until it is safe to do so.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a driver opens the car door without checking, then the driver can exit the vehicle quickly and easily, but the cyclist may collide with the door causing an accident
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of cyclists in the door zone before the door opening action is executed. The accident avoidance component checks for cyclists in advance and prevents door opening when a cyclist is detected, thereby eliminating the need for manual shoulder-checking while maintaining safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary system (sensors, processors, and control components) between the driver's door opening action and the physical door. This intermediary system detects cyclists and mediates the door opening process by blocking the action when necessary, thus preventing accidents without interfering with normal door operation when safe.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the cyclist alters course to avoid the door, then the cyclist can avoid collision with the door, but the cyclist may veer into adjacent vehicle traffic
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies preliminary anti-action by preventing the door opening action before the cyclist needs to take evasive measures. By detecting the cyclist's presence in advance and blocking the door from opening, the system eliminates the need for the cyclist to alter their course, thereby preventing both door collision and potential veering into traffic.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the system temporarily locks the door to prevent dooring, then the safety risk is reduced, but the occupant cannot exit the vehicle when needed
Solution Approach 1:
The door locking mechanism is dynamic rather than static. The system continuously monitors the door zone for cyclists and adjusts the door locking state in real-time. When no cyclist is present, the door remains unlockable for normal use. When a cyclist is detected, the door is temporarily blocked from opening. This dynamic adjustment ensures both safety and operational flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs feedback by continuously monitoring the door zone and adjusting door opening permissions based on real-time detection. The accident avoidance component receives ongoing input from sensors about cyclist presence and dynamically controls the door locking mechanism accordingly, ensuring the door is only restricted when necessary while remaining freely operable when safe.
Data Source
AI summary
Various systems and methods are presented regarding utilizing technology onboard a vehicle to minimize road traffic accidents between cyclists and vehicles. A vehicle can be operating in any of an autonomous, partially autonomous, or non-autonomous manner. By utilizing onboard technology/artificial intelligence, the vehicle can detect a cyclist navigating a street proximate to the vehicle, and further determine, if a door of the vehicle was opened, whether a car dooring incident would result involving the cyclist. In response to a determination that a car dooring incident is likely, an onboard system can prevent an occupant from opening a door likely to cause the dooring incident. Accordingly, the vehicle can preemptively adjust available operations to prevent a car dooring incident.