Steering Control Device for Safe Mode Transition
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing steering control devices struggle to safely transition from automatic driving mode to manual driving mode, particularly on straight roads where the driver's operation may not align with the reference state, leading to potential safety issues due to continued automatic driving mode and unstable vehicle behavior.
Innovation Solution
A steering control device that sets a transition period for manual driving mode and assesses the driver's operation reliability using steering wheel vibration analysis, allowing safe transition only when reliability is met, thereby ensuring safe driving by mixing automatic and manual control modes based on the driver's input.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the driver performs driving operation corresponding to reference operation state during automatic driving mode, then transition to manual driving mode is permitted, but on straight roads the driver cannot naturally perform reference operation state leading to continued automatic mode which may be unsafe
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the detection parameter from requiring specific driving operations (steering, acceleration, braking) to detecting steering wheel grip state through vibration analysis. This parameter change allows the system to reliably detect driver readiness for manual mode transition regardless of vehicle traveling conditions (straight or curved roads).
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical operation detection system (sensors for steering angle, acceleration, braking) with a vibration-based detection system. By analyzing steering wheel vibrations caused by driver grip, the system substitutes complex mechanical operation detection with a simpler, more universally applicable vibration analysis method.
2Reliability
If transition to manual driving mode is prohibited when driving operation deviates from reference state, then false transition is prevented, but legitimate transition requests are blocked causing safety concerns
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the detection criterion from requiring specific driving operations (steering, acceleration, braking) to detecting steering wheel grip state through vibration analysis. This parameter change allows the system to reliably detect driver readiness for manual mode transition regardless of vehicle traveling conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the driver's own steering wheel grip action as the detection signal. When the driver grips the steering wheel to prepare for manual mode transition, the resulting vibrations automatically trigger the transition detection, eliminating the need for separate operation detection systems.
3Ease of operation
If transition period is set before automatic driving mode ends, then smooth transition is enabled, but driver reliability cannot be properly assessed leading to unstable vehicle behavior
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously analyzes steering wheel vibrations throughout the transition period to assess driver reliability. This continuous detection ensures that the driver is genuinely ready for manual mode transition while maintaining smooth transition control, resolving the contradiction between transition smoothness and reliability assessment.
Data Source
AI summary
A steering device is provided to perform a safe transition from an automatic driving mode to a manual driving mode when necessary. When it is determined necessary to transition from the automatic driving mode to the manual driving mode during the automatic driving mode, a transition period before an end time point of the automatic driving mode is set, a driving operation reliability indicative of whether or not it is possible to perform the transition is determined, and the transition when it is determined that it is possible to perform the transition to the manual driving mode during the automatic driving mode. Consequently, the transition can be controlled so that transition is not performed instantly, such as, for example, in a case where a driver is not driving during the automatic driving mode and is not accustomed to manual driving.