Vehicle Warning Control Apparatus Adapting to Driver Timing

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing vehicle warning systems issue warnings at timings that may not match the individual driver's preferences or habits, leading to unnatural or uncomfortable experiences for drivers, as they are often determined based on age and driving experience rather than personalized habits.

Innovation Solution

A warning control apparatus that includes a distance information acquisition section, vehicle speed acquisition section, learning section, threshold setting section, and warning control section, which learns the collision avoidance timing based on driver-specific data and adjusts the warning threshold to issue warnings at timings that align with the driver's tendencies, whether early or late, using a microcomputer and various sensors to personalize the warning timing.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If warning timing is determined based on age and driving experience, then the system can issue warnings at standardized intervals, but the driver may feel unnatural or uncomfortable due to mismatch with individual preferences

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveAdaptability to individual driver preferencesVSAvoidComplexity of warning timing determination

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system learns the driver's actual collision avoidance timing by monitoring when the driver operates the brake pedal or steering wheel to avoid collisions. This learned timing is fed back to adjust the warning threshold, creating a closed-loop system that adapts to individual driver preferences while maintaining standardized system operation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The system automatically learns and adapts to each driver's preferences without requiring manual input or configuration. The warning control apparatus self-adjusts the warning threshold based on observed driver behavior patterns, eliminating the need for complex manual calibration while achieving personalized warning timing

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

2Ease of operation

If warning timing is standardized for all drivers, then the system is simple to operate, but it does not account for individual driving habits and preferences

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveSimplicity of warning system operationVSAvoidAdaptability to individual driving habits

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentUS9789817B2Warning control apparatus

Publication Date: 2017.10.17 DENSO CORP

AI summary

A warning control apparatus includes a learning section that learns a collision avoidance timing at which a driver of an own vehicle starts to perform an operation for avoiding collision with a front object based on a distance to this object and a speed of the own vehicle, a threshold setting section that determines whether the driver tends to start a collision avoidance operation early or late based on the learned collision avoidance timing, sets an avoidance warning threshold larger than a basic threshold upon determining that the vehicle driver tends to start the collision avoidance operation early, and sets the avoidance warning threshold smaller than the basic threshold in the contrary case, and a warning control section that causes a warning device to issue a warning at a warning timing set so as to become early as the avoidance warning threshold set by the threshold setting section becomes large.