KR20240127093A - Apparatus and method for controlling braking and emergency lights based on emergency detection - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for controlling brakes and emergency lights based on detection of an emergency situation is provided. The method for controlling brakes and emergency lights according to some embodiments of the present invention comprises: a step of generating sensing data that detects information on a front vehicle; a step of determining whether an emergency situation exists based on the sensing data; and a step of activating the brakes and emergency lights of the vehicle if an emergency situation is determined.

Description

{APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING BRAKING AND EMERGENCY LIGHTS BASED ON EMERGENCY DETECTION}

The present invention relates to a device and method for controlling brakes and emergency lights based on detection of an emergency situation, and more specifically, to a device and method for detecting an emergency situation through a sensor and controlling brakes and emergency lights based on the detection result.

Meanwhile, this project is the result of the Regional Innovation Strategy (RIS) project based on local government-university cooperation, which was carried out with the support of the National Research Foundation of Korea and the Ministry of Education in 2022. (Project Unique Number: 1345356233, Project Management Number: 2021RIS-004, Research Period: 2022. 07. 01. ~ 2023. 03. 31.)

AEB (Autonomous Emergency Braking) is a system that can minimize damage caused by collision by performing warning and automatic braking functions when a collision with a vehicle located in front of the controlled vehicle is visualized.

In general, AEB is designed to monitor the relative distance from the vehicle in front and the presence of a preceding vehicle to determine when AEB control will be engaged and released. At this time, AEB detects a risk of collision and performs emergency braking if the braking system, including the master cylinder or AEB controller, is normal.

However, in the past, it was difficult to avoid an imminent collision risk because there was no control technology to slow down or stop the vehicle when there was a failure in the braking system, including the master cylinder or AEB controller.

Accordingly, there is a demand for the development of technology that can reduce the speed or stop a vehicle even in situations where braking is impossible due to a brake system failure when the driver presses the brake pedal or attempts emergency braking.

In addition, there is a need for the development of technology that can notify drivers of vehicles behind that an accident has occurred in order to prevent secondary accidents that frequently occur due to sudden braking on expressways.

Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2016-0033513 (Published on March 28, 2016)

The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a device and method for reducing the risk of rear-end collisions due to delay in recognition time by detecting an emergency situation through a sensor and operating the brakes and emergency lights when detected.

The technical problems of the present invention are not limited to the technical problems mentioned above, and other technical problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below.

According to some embodiments of the present invention for achieving the above technical task, a method for controlling brakes and emergency lights based on detection of an emergency situation may include a step of generating sensing data that detects information on a front vehicle; a step of determining whether an emergency situation exists based on the sensing data; and a step of activating the brakes and emergency lights of the vehicle if an emergency situation is determined.

In some embodiments, the step of generating the sensing data may include the step of generating the sensing data using a proximity sensor or a camera sensor.

An emergency light control method based on emergency situation detection according to some embodiments of the present invention may include a step of detecting brake operation of a vehicle to generate sensing data; a step of determining whether an emergency situation exists based on the sensing data; and a step of activating an emergency light if an emergency situation is determined.

According to some embodiments, the sensing data includes brake pressure data of the vehicle, and the step of determining whether an emergency situation exists may include a step of determining an emergency situation if the pressure is greater than a preset reference pressure.

Specific details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a brake and emergency light control device according to some embodiments of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of the sensor unit.
FIGS. 3 and 4 are flowcharts illustrating a brake and emergency light control method according to some embodiments of the present invention.

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, but should be understood to include various modifications, equivalents, and/or alternatives of the embodiments of the present invention.

AEB (Autonomous Emergency Braking) is a system that can minimize damage caused by collision by performing warning and automatic braking functions when a collision with a vehicle located in front of the controlled vehicle is visualized.

In general, AEB is designed to monitor the relative distance from the vehicle in front and the presence of a preceding vehicle to determine when AEB control will be engaged and released. At this time, AEB detects a risk of collision and performs emergency braking if the braking system, including the master cylinder or AEB controller, is normal.

However, in the past, it was difficult to avoid an imminent collision risk because there was no control technology to slow down or stop the vehicle when there was a failure in the braking system, including the master cylinder or AEB controller.

Accordingly, there is a demand for the development of technology that can reduce the speed or stop a vehicle even in situations where braking is impossible due to a brake system failure when the driver presses the brake pedal or attempts emergency braking.

In addition, there is a need for the development of technology that can notify drivers of vehicles behind that an accident has occurred in order to prevent secondary accidents that frequently occur due to sudden braking on expressways.

Hereinafter, devices and methods according to some embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining a brake and emergency light control device according to some embodiments of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of a sensor unit.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a brake and emergency light control device (100) according to some embodiments of the present invention may include a sensor unit (110), a memory unit (120), a processor (130), an interface unit (140), and a data bus (150).

The sensor unit (110) can obtain sensing data that serves as the basis for determining whether an emergency situation exists according to one embodiment of the present invention. For example, referring to FIG. 2, the sensor unit (110) can be composed of a pressure sensor module (111), a camera sensor module (112), and/or a short-range sensor module (113).

The pressure sensor module (111) can be linked to the vehicle's brakes to sense the pressure of the brakes. That is, it senses data that serves as the basis for determining whether the pressure of the brakes is greater than or equal to the reference pressure, and the processor (130) can determine whether an emergency situation (e.g., sudden braking) exists based on this.

The camera sensor module (112) can be placed at the front, side, or rear of the vehicle and sense surrounding vehicles or structures through the camera. When implemented with the camera sensor module (112), the processor (130) can analyze it to determine whether there is an emergency situation (e.g., risk of collision).

The short-range sensor module (113) can be placed at the front, side, or rear of the vehicle and sense surrounding vehicles or structures through a short-range sensor (e.g., an infrared sensor). When implemented as a short-range sensor module (113), the processor (130) can analyze it to determine whether an emergency situation (e.g., risk of collision) exists.

The processor (130) can receive commands from other components of the control device (100) through the data bus (150), interpret the received commands, and execute operations or data processing according to the interpreted commands.

The memory unit (120) may store commands or data received from the processor (130) or other components of the control device (100) or generated by the processor (130) or other components. According to some embodiments, the memory unit (120) may be composed of a program memory and a data memory, and the program memory stores a program for controlling general operations of the mobile terminal. According to some embodiments, the memory unit (120) may further include an external memory such as a Compact Flash (CF), a Secure Digital (SD), a Micro-SD (Micro Secure Digital), a Mini-SD (Mini Secure Digital), an xD (Extreme Digital), and a Memory Stick. In addition, the memory unit (120) may include a disk storage device such as a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) and a Solid State Disk (SSD).

The interface unit (140) can connect communication between the control device (100) and another device (for example, a control device of another vehicle) or a server (not shown). The interface unit (140) can support a predetermined short-distance communication protocol (for example, Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity), BT (Bluetooth), NFC (near field communication), a predetermined network communication (for example, Internet, LAN (local area network), WAN (wire area network), telecommunication network, cellular network, satellite network, or POTS (plain old telephone service)), or a wired communication protocol (for example, USB (universal serial bus), HDMI (high definition multimedia interface), etc.).

The data bus (150) may be a circuit that connects the aforementioned components to each other and transmits communication (e.g., control messages) between the aforementioned components.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are flowcharts illustrating a brake and emergency light control method according to some embodiments of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, a brake and emergency light control method according to some embodiments of the present invention can determine an emergency situation based on sensing data and control activation of the brake and emergency light of a vehicle.

In step S1000, the sensor unit (110) can detect information of a front, side, or rear vehicle and generate sensing data. According to one embodiment, the sensor unit (110) can be implemented as a camera sensor module (112). According to another embodiment, the sensor unit (110) can be implemented as a short-range sensor module (113).

At step S3000, the processor (130) can determine whether an emergency situation exists based on sensing data. For example, the processor (130) can receive video or image data from the camera sensor module (112), analyze the data to determine the risk of collision of the vehicle, and determine whether an emergency situation exists. As another example, the processor (130) can receive distance data from the short-range sensor module (113), analyze the data to determine the risk of collision of the vehicle, and determine whether an emergency situation exists.

At step S5000, the processor (130) can activate the brakes and emergency lights of the vehicle if the vehicle is judged to be in an emergency situation. That is, in the case of an emergency situation such as a risk of collision, the processor can prevent a collision by activating the brakes without the control of the vehicle driver, and further, by activating the emergency lights, it can notify the vehicle behind of the emergency situation and reduce the risk of secondary accidents.

Referring to FIG. 4, an emergency light control method according to some embodiments of the present invention can determine an emergency situation based on sensing data and control activation of the emergency light of a vehicle.

At step S1500, the sensor unit (110) can detect the operation of the vehicle's brakes and generate sensing data. According to one embodiment, the sensor unit (110) can be implemented as a pressure sensor module (111) to sense the vehicle's brake pressure.

At step S3500, the processor (130) can determine whether there is an emergency based on the sensing data. For example, the processor (130) can obtain the vehicle's pressure data, compare it with a preset reference pressure, and determine that there is an emergency if the pressure is higher than the reference pressure. That is, if the brake is applied at a pressure higher than the reference pressure, it can be determined that there is an emergency requiring emergency braking.

At step S5500, the processor (130) can activate the vehicle's emergency lights if the vehicle is determined to be in an emergency situation. That is, the processor determines that an emergency situation (collision or collision risk situation) occurs when the driver of the vehicle presses the brakes with high pressure, and activates the emergency lights to notify the vehicle behind of the emergency situation, thereby reducing the risk of an accident.

The various embodiments of this document and the terminology used herein are not intended to limit the technical features described in this document to specific embodiments, but should be understood to include various modifications, equivalents, or substitutes of the embodiments. In connection with the description of the drawings, similar reference numerals may be used for similar or related components. The singular form of a noun corresponding to an item may include one or more of the items, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this document, each of the phrases "A or B", "at least one of A and B", "at least one of A or B", "A, B, or C", "at least one of A, B, and C", and "at least one of A, B, or C" may include any one of the items listed together in the corresponding phrase, or all possible combinations thereof. Terms such as "first", "second" may be used simply to distinguish the corresponding component from other corresponding components, and do not limit the corresponding components in any other respect (e.g., importance or order).

The term "module" as used in this document may include a unit implemented in hardware, software or firmware, and may be used interchangeably with terms such as logic, logic block, component, or circuit, for example. A module may be an integrally configured component or a minimum unit of the component or a portion thereof that performs one or more functions. For example, according to one embodiment, a module may be implemented in the form of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

Various embodiments of the present document may be implemented as software including one or more instructions stored in a storage medium that can be read by a machine (e.g., a control device (100)). For example, a processor (e.g., a processor (130)) of the machine (e.g., a control device (100)) may call at least one instruction among the one or more instructions stored from the storage medium and execute it. This enables the machine to operate to perform at least one function according to the at least one instruction called. The one or more instructions may include code generated by a compiler or code that can be executed by an interpreter. The machine-readable storage medium may be provided in the form of a non-transitory storage medium. Here, 'non-transitory' only means that the storage medium is a tangible device and does not include a signal (e.g., an electromagnetic wave), and this term does not distinguish between cases where data is stored semi-permanently and cases where it is stored temporarily in the storage medium.

According to one embodiment, the method according to the various embodiments disclosed in the present document may be provided as included in a computer program product. The computer program product may be traded between a seller and a buyer as a commodity. The computer program product may be distributed in the form of a machine-readable storage medium (e.g., a compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM)), or may be distributed online (e.g., downloaded or uploaded) through an application store or directly between two user devices (e.g., smartphones). In the case of online distribution, at least a part of the computer program product may be temporarily stored or temporarily generated in a machine-readable storage medium, such as a memory of a manufacturer's server, a server of an application store, or an intermediary server.

According to various embodiments, each component (e.g., a module or a program) of the above-described components may include a single or multiple entities. According to various embodiments, one or more of the components or operations of the above-described components may be omitted, or one or more other components or operations may be added. Alternatively or additionally, a plurality of components (e.g., a module or a program) may be integrated into a single component. In such a case, the integrated component may perform one or more functions of each of the components of the plurality of components identically or similarly to those performed by the corresponding component of the plurality of components prior to the integration. According to various embodiments, the operations performed by the module, program or other component may be executed sequentially, in parallel, repeatedly, or heuristically, or one or more of the operations may be executed in a different order, omitted, or one or more other operations may be added.

100: Control device
110: Sensor section
111: Pressure sensor module
112: Camera sensor module
113: Proximity sensor module
120: Memory section
130: Processor
140: Interface section
150: Data Bus

Claims (4)

A method for controlling brakes and emergency lights based on detection of an emergency situation,
A step of generating sensing data that detects information of a front, side, or rear vehicle;
A step of determining whether an emergency situation exists based on the sensing data; and
In case of an emergency, steps are taken to activate the vehicle's brakes and emergency lights.
Method of controlling brakes and emergency lights.
In claim 1,
The step of generating the above sensing data is:
Comprising a step of generating said sensing data using a proximity sensor or a camera sensor,
Method of controlling brakes and emergency lights.
As an emergency light control method based on detection of an emergency situation,
A step of detecting the brake operation of a vehicle and generating sensing data;
A step of determining whether an emergency situation exists based on the sensing data; and
In case of an emergency, including the step of activating the emergency lights,
Method of controlling emergency lights.
In claim 3,
The above sensing data includes vehicle brake pressure data,
The step of determining whether the above emergency situation exists includes a step of determining an emergency situation if the pressure is greater than a predetermined standard pressure.
Method of controlling emergency lights.