Automatic Emergency Braking Reserve Control at High Speeds

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing automatic emergency braking systems in vehicles face limitations in high-speed scenarios, leading to increased risk of rear-end collisions due to unexpected braking by following vehicles, and existing solutions either restrict braking availability or introduce safety risks.

Innovation Solution

A method for controlling braking force that initializes a brake reserve level, consumes it based on vehicle dynamics, and resets it after a predetermined time or condition, allowing robust and context-aware emergency braking without surprising following drivers.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If automatic emergency braking is activated at high speeds, then braking availability is improved, but the risk of rear-end collisions increases due to unexpected braking of following vehicles

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvebraking availabilityVSAvoidrear-end collision risk
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary action by initializing a brake reserve level before emergency braking is needed. This reserve accumulates available braking capacity in advance, allowing the system to activate emergency braking at high speeds without immediately consuming all braking capacity, thereby reducing unexpected braking intensity for following vehicles while maintaining high-speed braking availability

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system applies dynamics by making the brake reserve level dynamic rather than static. The reserve level is continuously updated based on vehicle speed, deceleration rate, and time since last braking event. This dynamic adjustment allows the system to adapt braking availability to current driving conditions, enabling high-speed emergency braking when appropriate while naturally limiting braking frequency to prevent rear-end collisions

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

2Reliability

If braking force is reduced to prevent rear-end collisions, then safety is improved, but automatic emergency braking availability decreases

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovesafetyVSAvoidbraking availability
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system uses dynamics to adjust braking force based on real-time conditions. The brake reserve level dynamically determines the maximum braking force available, allowing full braking force when the reserve is high (safe conditions) and limiting braking force when the reserve is low (risk of rear-end collision). This resolves the contradiction by making braking force adaptive rather than statically reduced

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring vehicle speed, deceleration, and time since last braking to update the brake reserve level. This feedback loop ensures that braking availability is maintained when safe (high reserve) while automatically reducing availability when risk of rear-end collision increases (low reserve), thereby maintaining safety without unnecessary limitation of emergency braking capability

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

3Speed

If maximum braking capacity is applied, then stopping distance is reduced, but following vehicle drivers are surprised and cannot react

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestopping speedVSAvoiddriver reaction capability
Core Design Contradiction:
SpeedVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies preliminary action by building up brake reserve capacity before emergency situations occur. During normal operation, the reserve accumulates based on vehicle dynamics, creating a buffer that allows maximum braking to be applied selectively rather than continuously. This preliminary accumulation enables short, intense braking events that stop quickly without requiring prolonged maximum braking that would surprise following drivers

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

4Object-affected harmful factors

If braking is limited by maximum longitudinal speed, then rear-end collision risk is reduced, but automatic emergency braking availability is considerably limited

Engineering Contradiction:
Improverear-end collision riskVSAvoidbraking availability
Core Design Contradiction:
Object-affected harmful factorsVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies parameter changes by transitioning from a static speed-based limitation to a dynamic parameter-based reserve system. Instead of limiting emergency braking to a fixed maximum longitudinal speed, the system uses the brake reserve level (which depends on speed, deceleration, and time) to determine braking availability. This allows emergency braking at higher speeds when the reserve permits while still preventing rear-end collisions when the reserve is depleted

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentEP4416023B1Braking control method
Publication Date: 2025.12.03 AMPERE SAS
  • EP4416023B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4416023B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP4416023B1 patent drawing

AI summary

The invention relates to a method for controlling the automatic emergency braking of a vehicle (1), the method comprising the following steps: - initialising a braking reserve level; initialising a time counter to zero; - receiving an automatic braking request; - activating an automatic braking action; - decrementing the reserve level for as long as the automatic braking action is active; - deactivating the automatic braking action as soon as the request ceases to be received or the reserve level reaches zero; - incrementing a time counter from the moment the automatic braking action is deactivated and as long as no automatic braking action has been reactivated; - resetting the time counter to zero when a predetermined threshold is reached by the counter or when the automatic braking action is reactivated before reaching the threshold; - reinitialising the reserve when the time counter exceeds the threshold.