Steering Lever Intrusion Detection for Autonomous Lateral Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
In vehicles equipped with non-circular steering handles, the rotational movement of the steering handle can be hindered when the driver's legs or body parts occupy the free space created by the non-circular design, leading to potential collisions and discomfort during autonomous lateral control.
Innovation Solution
A method for operating a vehicle that includes a non-circular steering handle, where the steering handle is designed with a three-dimensional space or range that allows for a 360° rotation, incorporating a tolerance band to accommodate vibrations and ensure the driver's hands can grip the handle at any angle. The system detects when the driver's body parts intrude into the free space and provides warnings or signals to the driver to remove them, preventing collisions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If a non-circular steering handle is used to save space and improve ergonomics, then leg space in the zero position is improved, but the steering handle may collide with the driver's legs during rotation
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection to identify when the driver's legs are positioned in the path of the steering handle rotation. Before the collision can occur, the system issues a warning signal to the driver, prompting them to move their legs away from the hazardous area. This preliminary action prevents the harmful effect before it manifests.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors the spatial relationship between the steering handle and the driver's legs using sensors. When a potential collision is detected, the system provides immediate feedback through visual, acoustic, or haptic warnings. This closed-loop feedback mechanism allows the driver to adjust their position in real-time, preventing the harmful effect while maintaining the space-saving benefits of the non-circular design.
2Ease of operation
If the steering handle rotates into the free space occupied by the driver's legs, then the rotational movement is hampered, but this can cause discomfort and unintended mode transfer
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies preliminary anti-action by detecting the hazardous positioning of the driver's legs and issuing warnings before the steering handle rotation is impeded. By preventing the legs from occupying the rotation path in the first place, the system eliminates both the operational hindrance and the risk of unintended mode transfer, ensuring both ease of operation and reliability.
3Reliability
If the steering handle is designed with a tolerance band to accommodate vibrations, then grip reliability is improved, but the overall device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system addresses the vibration issue by changing the geometric parameters of the steering handle design. A tolerance band is incorporated into the handle's cross-sectional dimensions, creating a more robust grip area that naturally accommodates vibrations and hand movements. This parameter change improves grip reliability through the design itself, rather than adding complex active control systems, thus achieving reliability enhancement with minimal increase in device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle may be operated in a driving mode with autonomous lateral control and in a driving mode with manual lateral control, where the vehicle has a steering lever with a steering lever range, and where the steering lever range represents a circular space which is delimited about 360° by a rotational movement of the steering lever about a steering lever axis of rotation. A method associated with the vehicle may include one or more of the following steps: operating the vehicle in a driving mode with autonomous lateral control; detecting an intrusion in the steering lever range and/or a breaching of a predefined distance from the steering lever range by the vehicle occupant or another object with a sensor unit without the vehicle occupant coming into contact with the steering lever; and signaling the intrusion and/or the breaching of the distance to the vehicle occupant.