Emergency Stop Assistant Using Predictive Route Data

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing emergency stop systems for motor vehicles often pose a risk to the stopping vehicle and following traffic, as they may not select the safest location for an emergency stop, potentially leading to accidents and complicating rescue efforts.

Innovation Solution

A method and device that utilize predictive route data from navigation systems, including height information, curve radii, construction sites, and emergency lane information, to determine a low-risk emergency stop position, allowing the vehicle to be safely brought to a standstill in a location visible to following traffic and easily accessible for rescue services.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of time

If emergency stop is executed at the current location without route prediction, then the emergency stop response time is reduced, but the safety of the stopping position deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveemergency stop response timeVSAvoidsafety of stopping position
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of timeVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary analysis of predictive route data including height information, curve radii, and construction site locations before executing the emergency stop. This allows the vehicle to maintain current speed while already having identified a safe stopping position, thus reducing the actual emergency stop response time while ensuring safety through advance route evaluation

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The control device acts as an intermediary between the driver monitoring system and the vehicle's driving functions. It receives driver status data, evaluates predictive route data, and automatically determines safe stopping positions by analyzing route characteristics such as height information, curve radii, and construction sites, thereby mediating between immediate stop requirements and safety considerations

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Productivity

If emergency stop position is selected without considering route characteristics, then the stopping maneuver can be executed immediately, but the risk to following traffic increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveemergency stop execution speedVSAvoidrisk to following traffic
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system pre-evaluates route characteristics including height information from satellite navigation, curve radii, and construction site locations before the emergency stop is triggered. This preliminary analysis enables the control device to identify safe stopping positions that minimize risk to following traffic while maintaining rapid emergency response capability

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The control device continuously monitors driver status data and combines it with predictive route data to dynamically determine safe stopping positions. The system uses feedback from route characteristic analysis (height, curves, construction sites) to adjust the emergency stop maneuver, ensuring that the selected position minimizes harm to following traffic while maintaining execution speed

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

3Measurement precision

If driver monitoring system continuously monitors driver status, then the detection of driver unfitness is improved, but the system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedetection of driver unfitnessVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The control device serves multiple functions: it controls driving functions, monitors driver status data, evaluates predictive route data, and determines safe stopping positions. By consolidating these diverse functions into a single control device, the system achieves high measurement precision for driver unfitness detection without proportionally increasing overall system complexity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The system merges the driver monitoring function with the emergency stop control function in a single integrated control device. This consolidation allows the system to continuously monitor driver status for unfitness detection while simultaneously using the same control unit to evaluate route characteristics and execute the emergency stop maneuver, thereby reducing redundant components and simplifying the overall system architecture

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentEP2657921B1Method and device for the emergency stopping of a motor vehicle
Publication Date: 2020.12.16 VOLKSWAGEN AG
  • EP2657921B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2657921B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2657921B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

The method involves supervising (S1) the driver of the vehicle for generating driver state data. The level of roadworthiness of the driver is determined (S2) from the driver state data. The vehicle is transferred (S3) in an automatic travel mode, if the degree of the roadworthiness of the driver falls below a predetermined threshold. A safe emergency stop maneuver is executed. A risk-minimum stopping position is determined (S5) for the emergency stop of the vehicle from a predictive route data of the future route course of the motor vehicle. The risk-minimum stopping position is approached (S6) with the automatic driving mode. The safe emergency stop maneuver is executed (S7) in the risk-minimum stopping position. An independent claim is included for an emergency stop aid for executing the safe emergency stop maneuver performing method.