Vehicle Emergency Stop Switch Logic for Incapacitated Driver Response
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vehicle emergency stop systems fail to initiate an emergency stop when a driver is unconscious or unable to drive normally, especially if they briefly interact with the steering wheel or look ahead, and often lack a switch for occupants to initiate a safe stop, increasing accident risk.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle equipped with a switch and driving controller that generates signals for emergency stopping based on sustained inputs, providing notifications and guidance through an input-output device, allowing for safe emergency stops even when the driver is incapacitated, and enabling occupants to manually initiate the stop.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the vehicle controller determines emergency stop based on driver monitoring (steering wheel contact, gaze direction), then the system can detect driver incapacitation, but the emergency stop is not triggered when the driver briefly interacts with the steering wheel or looks ahead, reducing reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a switch as an intermediary device that mediates between the driver/occupant and the emergency stop function. This switch provides a direct, unambiguous signal path to the driving controller, bypassing the limitations of indirect driver monitoring methods. The switch acts as a reliable mediator that can be activated by any occupant to definitively trigger emergency stop conditions.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a switch for emergency stop is added to allow occupant activation, then occupants can initiate emergency stop, but the system may trigger unintended emergency stops if the switch is accidentally activated
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions before executing emergency stop: it detects the switch input signal, activates notification output to warn all occupants, and provides a predetermined period (delay) between switch activation and actual emergency stop execution. This preliminary notification phase allows accidental activations to be corrected before irreversible emergency stopping occurs.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by providing notification output that informs occupants of the switch activation state. This feedback loop allows occupants to verify whether a switch activation was intentional before the emergency stop executes, enabling correction of accidental activations during the notification period.
3Productivity
If the vehicle performs automatic emergency stop based on driver monitoring, then emergency stop can be initiated without occupant intervention, but the system fails to stop when the driver is unconscious but briefly touches the steering wheel or looks ahead, reducing effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service by allowing any occupant (including unconscious drivers who may have fallen asleep holding the wheel, or清醒 passengers) to independently activate emergency stop through the switch without requiring complex monitoring algorithms to interpret ambiguous driver states. The switch provides a direct, simple activation method that works regardless of the driver's actual state.
Data Source
AI summary
In an embodiment of a vehicle and a control method thereof, the vehicle can include a switch configured to generate a signal for the vehicle to perform emergency stopping during driving, and a driving controller configured to control the vehicle to perform the emergency stopping by the signal generated by the switch. The driving controller can be configured to control the vehicle to perform the emergency stopping in response to the signal being generated for a first input to the switch and in response to the signal being generated after a period of time for a second input to the switch, wherein the second input is different from the first input.