Automatic Liftgate Height Control via Garage Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Automatic liftgates in vehicles often contact garage ceilings or doors when opened to their maximum height, potentially causing damage, and existing solutions require manual user programming which is time-consuming and requires specialized interfaces.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that uses cameras, edge detection algorithms, and machine learning to automatically detect garage door frames, determine their height, and adjust the liftgate's opening height to avoid collisions, integrating with vehicle sensors and navigation systems to determine the vehicle's location and speed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the liftgate opens to maximum height, then access to the trunk is optimized, but the liftgate may contact the garage ceiling or door causing damage
Solution Approach 1:
The liftgate opening height is made dynamically adjustable rather than fixed at maximum. The system automatically modifies the opening height based on detected environmental conditions (garage ceiling presence), allowing the liftgate to adapt its position to avoid obstacles while maintaining maximum access when conditions permit.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs automatic detection and adjustment of liftgate height without requiring manual user programming or interaction. The vehicle's camera system automatically detects garage ceilings and the control system autonomously adjusts the opening height, eliminating the need for specialized HMI interfaces or user programming time.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If manual height presets are programmed to avoid garage ceilings, then collision damage is prevented, but user programming time and specialized interfaces are required
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically detects garage ceilings using the vehicle's camera system and autonomously determines appropriate liftgate opening heights without any user programming. This eliminates the time users would spend programming height presets and removes the need for specialized HMI interfaces, while still preventing collision damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The manual programming interface (mechanical switches or HMI controls) is replaced with an automated optical detection system. The camera-based detection system captures images of the garage environment, processes them to identify ceiling heights, and automatically controls the liftgate position, substituting manual mechanical programming with automated optical-mechanical control.
3Extent of automation
If automatic camera-based detection is implemented, then manual programming is eliminated, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system leverages the vehicle's existing camera system, originally designed for other purposes (such as backup or driver assistance), and repurposes it for garage ceiling detection. This multi-functional approach avoids adding dedicated hardware while achieving automatic detection capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The control module serves as an intermediary that processes camera images and translates them into liftgate control commands. This mediator integrates the optical detection system with the existing liftgate control system, managing the complexity through a dedicated control layer that coordinates between the camera input and liftgate actuator.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for controlling an automatic liftgate in a vehicle includes detecting a garage door frame of a garage using a front camera or a rear camera mounted on the vehicle, determining a garage height of the garage door frame, determining whether the vehicle has entered the garage, and setting a custom height to which the automatic liftgate can open to the garage height of the garage door frame when the vehicle has entered the garage.