Vehicle Stop Cause Detection via Wheel-Body Timing Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vehicle control systems face challenges in accurately detecting obstacles around the vehicle, particularly in blind spots, leading to difficulties in preventing collisions and determining the cause of vehicle stops, which can result in incorrect countermeasures.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle control device equipped with a wheel stop detection unit, a vehicle body stop detection unit, and a stop cause determination unit that analyze the timing of wheel and vehicle body stops to determine the cause of a vehicle stop, enabling precise identification of contact with obstacles and appropriate control measures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple cameras are arranged to eliminate blind spots, then obstacle detection coverage is improved, but system cost and complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary analysis mechanism that processes wheel stop and vehicle body stop timing data to infer obstacle contact events. This intermediary system acts as a mediator between the limited camera coverage and the need for comprehensive obstacle detection, enabling the system to detect obstacles in blind spots by analyzing the temporal relationship between wheel stops and vehicle body stops without requiring additional cameras.
2Reliability
If obstacle detection coverage is expanded to eliminate blind spots, then collision prevention capability is improved, but system cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical approach of adding more physical sensors (cameras) with an information processing approach. By substituting the need for additional mechanical sensor components with a computational analysis method that processes existing wheel stop and vehicle body stop timing data, the system achieves expanded obstacle detection coverage without increasing hardware complexity or cost.
3Reliability
If the vehicle stops due to undetected obstacles, then safety is compromised, but the ability to identify stop cause is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism that analyzes the temporal relationship between wheel stop timing and vehicle body stop timing to determine the cause of vehicle stops. This feedback loop provides information about whether the wheel stopped first (indicating wheel-obstacle contact) or the vehicle body stopped first (indicating body-obstacle contact), enabling the system to identify stop causes even for obstacles previously undetected by cameras, thereby improving safety and diagnostic capability.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention makes it possible to appropriately grasp a stop cause when a vehicle stops. An ECU 5, which controls a vehicle including wheels and a vehicle body connected to the wheels includes: a wheel stop detection unit 138 that detects a stop of the wheels; a vehicle body stop detection unit 133 that detects a stop of the vehicle body; and a stop cause determination unit 141 that determines a stop cause of the vehicle based on a stop timing of the wheels detected by the wheel stop detection unit 138 and a stop timing of the vehicle body detected by the vehicle body stop detection unit 133. The stop cause determination unit 141 may determine that the stop cause is contact of the vehicle body with an obstacle when the stop timing of the vehicle body is earlier than the stop timing of the wheels.