Intrinsically Safe Vehicle Pedestrian Collision Force Limiting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electric and hybrid vehicles, due to their quiet operation, often go unnoticed by pedestrians, leading to potential collisions, especially during transitions between stationary and moving states, and existing collision avoidance systems do not effectively mitigate damage when such collisions occur.
Innovation Solution
A method that activates an 'intrinsically safe mode' in vehicles, using environment detection and control systems to limit the force of interaction by controlling the drivetrain and braking, and employing sensors to detect and counteract the interaction force with pedestrians, thereby preventing or minimizing collisions through targeted speed control and steering.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If electric or hybrid vehicles are used to reduce fuel consumption and emissions, then energy efficiency and environmental protection are improved, but the vehicles become less detectable by pedestrians due to lack of noise emissions
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of pedestrians using sensors (camera, radar, ultrasonic) before the vehicle reaches them, and pre-applies braking force to prevent collision. This advance action compensates for the lack of audible warning that would otherwise alert pedestrians to the vehicle's approach.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces sensor systems (camera, radar, ultrasonic sensors) as intermediaries to detect pedestrians and transmit this information to the control unit. These sensors act as mediators between the silent vehicle and the environment, providing the detection capability that noise would otherwise provide.
2Reliability
If the vehicle operates in intrinsically safe mode with continuous monitoring, then pedestrian safety is improved, but the complexity of the control system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit performs multiple functions: it controls the drivetrain, manages braking, monitors sensor data, and adjusts operation mode based on detected situations. By consolidating these functions in a single multi-functional control unit, the system achieves high safety without proportionally increasing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the drivetrain control and braking system control into a unified control architecture. The control unit integrates the monitoring of multiple sensors (camera, radar, ultrasonic) and coordinates the response across different vehicle systems, merging previously separate functions into a coordinated whole that improves safety while managing complexity.
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
A method for limiting the force exerted by a motor vehicle on a person during a collision is provided, comprising the steps of activating a monitoring mode of the motor vehicle, detecting an interaction force of the motor vehicle with a person outside the motor vehicle during the collision, and limiting the force exerted by the motor vehicle on the person by steering the motor vehicle in the opposite direction to the detected interaction force, wherein the step of detecting the interaction force of the motor vehicle with the person includes determining a deviation of the target rolling resistance of the motor vehicle from the actual rolling resistance of the motor vehicle and/or directly measuring the interaction force using a touch-sensitive sensor on an exterior surface of the motor vehicle.