Patent Grant
11370386
This application claims under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) the benefit of priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2018-0132779 filed on Nov. 1, 2018, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present disclosure relates to an advanced driving assistance system (ADAS)-linked active hood apparatus for always-on operation, and more particularly, to a technology related to an active hood that is capable of always being moved upward and restored along with vehicle driving by operating a motor unit to move a rotary bracket coupled to a rotary arm upward based on received ADAS information.
With the recent advancement of technology for autonomous vehicles, the field of safety associated with active or passive autonomous driving is in the spotlight. Moreover, an advanced driving assistance system (ADAS) is being developed as a technology for autonomous driving of vehicles.
An ADAS is a high-tech driver assistance system for assisting a driver in driving a vehicle, and is configured to sense a situation ahead of a vehicle, determine the situation based on the sensing result, and control the behavior of the vehicle based on the determined situation. For example, an ADAS sensor device is capable of detecting a foregoing vehicle and driving lanes. Then, when a target lane, a target speed, or a foregoing target is determined, the ADAS controls, for example, electrical stability control (ESC) of a vehicle, an engine management system (EMS), or motor driven power steering (MDPS).
As a representative example, the ADAS may be realized by an automatic parking system, a low-speed urban driving assistance system, or a blind-spot warning system. The ADAS sensor device for sensing a situation ahead of the vehicle may be, for example, a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, a laser scanner, a front radar, or a Lidar, the most representative one being a front camera configured to capture an image of the area ahead of the vehicle.
Furthermore, separate from technology for autonomous driving, recently, an active hood device has been developed as a hood hinge device, which connects opposite side portions of the rear end of a hood, which closes an engine room, to a vehicle body. When a collision with a pedestrian occurs, the active hood device is capable of preventing the pedestrian's head from directly colliding with a rigid vehicle structure such as an engine or a transmission.
In the related art, the active hood device is configured such that the rear end of the hood pops or lifts upward via a disposable active hinge based on an operation of an actuator to secure the safety of a pedestrian during a collision. Even if a vehicle moves using an ADAS as an active autonomous driving system, a collision remains possible since a vehicle is unable to avoid a collision object that appears suddenly. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a pedestrian protection device, which pops or ejects a hood upward based on the probability of a collision via the ADAS before an accident occurs. Moreover, the need for an active hood for always-on operation is increasing.
The present disclosure provides an advanced driving assistance system (ADAS)-linked active hood apparatus for always-on operation in which a controller considers the probability of a collision.
Another object according to the present disclosure is to provide an ADAS-linked active hood apparatus for always-on operation, which includes a rotary bracket driven by a motor unit disposed on a rotary arm and sets the amount of upward movement (amount of pop-up) of a hood based on driving information received by a controller. A further object according to the present disclosure is to provide an ADAS-linked active hood apparatus for always-on operation in which an active hood, which is operated based on the probability of a collision during autonomous driving.
The objects according to the present disclosure are not limited to the objects as mentioned above, and other unmentioned objects will be understood by those skilled in the art from the following description and will be more clearly appreciated by the embodiments according to the present disclosure. In addition, the object according to the present disclosure may be realized by devices disclosed in the claims and combinations thereof.
The ADAS-linked active hood apparatus for always-on operation for the aforementioned objectives according to the present disclosure may have the following configuration. In an exemplary embodiment, an ADAS-linked active hood apparatus for always-on operation may include a rotary arm fixed to a hood of a vehicle, a stationary bracket fixed to a vehicle body, a rotary bracket configured to rotate about a pivot pint of the rotary arm, a first link that interconnects the rotary bracket and the stationary bracket, a motor unit integrally connected to the rotary arm and configured to apply driving force to the rotary bracket, and a controller configured to receive driving information of the vehicle via an advanced driving assistance system (ADAS) and to adjust a pop-up height of the hood when a collision is expected based on the received driving information.
In another exemplary embodiment, the controller may be configured to set a rotation amount of the motor unit to adjust an amount of pop-up of the hood based on a position of a collision object, a time-to-collision (TTC), a probability or risk of a collision, and the collision object measured via the ADAS when the collision is expected based on the received driving information. In addition, the controller may be configured to sort the probability of a collision into at least one stage and to set the rotation amount of the motor unit to adjust the amount of pop-up of the hood according to the stage of the probability of a collision. Further, the controller may be configured to set the rotation amount of the motor unit to adjust the amount of pop-up of the hood based on a type of the collision object.
The ADAS-linked active hood apparatus may further include a motor gear configured to be operated along with rotation of the motor unit, and an arm rotary gear positioned at the rotary bracket to be operatively associated with the motor gear and configured to rotate the rotary bracket. Additionally, the ADAS-linked active hood apparatus may include a second link connected to the rotary bracket and the stationary bracket and a shock absorption member disposed at an intersection between the rotary bracket and the stationary bracket. In another exemplary embodiment, upon receiving driving force through the motor unit, the rotary arm and the rotary bracket may be rotated simultaneously to perform pop-up of the hood. The rotary bracket may be rotated by the motor unit and moved upward to a maximum of 80 about mm.
The above and other features according to the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof illustrated the accompanying drawings which are given hereinbelow by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative according to the present disclosure, and wherein:
It is understood that the term “vehicle” or “vehicular” or other similar term as used herein is inclusive of motor vehicles in general such as passenger automobiles including sports utility vehicles (SUV), buses, trucks, various commercial vehicles, watercraft including a variety of boats and ships, aircraft, and the like, and includes hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered vehicles and other alternative fuel vehicles (e.g. fuels derived from resources other than petroleum). As referred to herein, a hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that has two or more sources of power, for example both gasoline-powered and electric-powered vehicles.
Although exemplary embodiment is described as using a plurality of units to perform the exemplary process, it is understood that the exemplary processes may also be performed by one or plurality of modules. Additionally, it is understood that the term controller/control unit refers to a hardware device that includes a memory and a processor. The memory is configured to store the modules and the processor is specifically configured to execute said modules to perform one or more processes which are described further below.
Furthermore, control logic of the present disclosure may be embodied as non-transitory computer readable media on a computer readable medium containing executable program instructions executed by a processor, controller/control unit or the like. Examples of the computer readable mediums include, but are not limited to, ROM, RAM, compact disc (CD)-ROMs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, flash drives, smart cards and optical data storage devices. The computer readable recording medium can also be distributed in network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable media is stored and executed in a distributed fashion, e.g., by a telematics server or a Controller Area Network (CAN).
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Unless specifically stated or obvious from context, as used herein, the term “about” is understood as within a range of normal tolerance in the art, for example within 2 standard deviations of the mean. “About” can be understood as within 10%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, 1%, 0.5%, 0.1%, 0.05%, or 0.01% of the stated value. Unless otherwise clear from the context, all numerical values provided herein are modified by the term “about.”
Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments according to the present disclosure will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The exemplary embodiments according to the present disclosure may be modified in various forms, and the scope according to the present disclosure should not be interpreted as being limited to the following embodiments. The exemplary embodiments are provided to more completely describe the disclosure to those of ordinary skill in the art.
In addition, in this specification, the upward direction (e.g., height or vertical direction) is the direction in which a hood is moved upward and the downward direction is the direction in which the hood is moved downward (e.g., toward the vehicle body), and the upward and downward directions are relative concepts based on the position of a vehicle. The active hood apparatus disclosed in this specification may be disposed on at least one end of a hood, and may be applied to any of various other positions.
The present disclosure relates to an ADAS-linked active hood apparatus 10 for always-on operation and provides technology to adjust the amount of pop-up of a hood 400 at all times based on a collision risk determination algorithm during autonomous driving by an ADAS 100 or when a driver operates a vehicle based on information received through the ADAS 100.
The ADAS 100 according to the present disclosure may include a camera 110 (e.g., any type of imaging device), a Lidar 120, and a radar 130, and may be configured to receive vehicle driving information. The ADAS 100 may further include an ADAS controller 140. The ADAS controller 140 may be configured to process vehicle driving information received from the camera, Lidar, and radar and to calculate the probability of a collision (e.g., collision risk) during driving and the time-to-collision (TTC). In another exemplary embodiment according to the present disclosure, an electronic control unit (ECU) may further be provided as a high-ranking vehicle controller (e.g., upper controller). The ECU may be configured to operate the ADAS controller 140 and a pop-up controller 300 for a hood 400.
In the ADAS 100 according to the present disclosure, an image sensor may be configured to sense an image of a subject or object captured via a lens, an image processor may be configured to receive and process data of the captured image from the image sensor, and the camera module 110 may be configured to receive the data from the image processor. The camera module 110 may be configured to operate the image sensor and the image processor. Examples of such control may include power supply control, reset control, clock (CLK) control, data communication control, power source control, and memory control. The image processor may be configured to process data, which is sensed and output by the image sensor, and examples of this processing may include enlargement of a sensed forward object and focusing on the area of an object in the entire visual-field area.
The Lidar 120 of the ADAS 100 may be connected, for example, to a Lidar device as a sensor. The Lidar device may include a laser transmission module, a laser detection module, a signal collection and processing module, and a data transmission and reception module, and may use a laser source which emits a laser within a wavelength range from about 250 nm to 11 μm or is capable of changing the wavelength of a laser. Such a Lidar device may be divided into a time-of-flight (TOF) type and a phase-shift type according to a signal modulation method.
The Lidar 120 may be configured to operate the Lidar device and any other device connected to the Lidar device (e.g. a Lidar processor (not illustrated) that processes a Lidar sensing output). Examples of this control may include power supply control, reset control, clock (CLK) control, data communication control, and memory control. The Lidar device may be used to sense an area ahead of a vehicle. Accordingly, the Lidar device may be positioned on the front side of a passenger compartment, specifically, under a windshield to transmit and receive a laser through the windshield.
The radar 130 of the ADAS 100 may be connected, for example, to a radar device as a sensor. The radar device may be a sensor configured to measure the distance to an object or the speed or angle of the object using electromagnetic waves. Through the use of the radar device, an object up to about 150 m ahead within a horizontal angular range of about 30 degrees may be sensed using frequency modulation carrier waves (FMCW) or pulse carrier waves. The radar 130 may be configured to operate the radar device and any other device connected to the radar device (e.g. a radar processor (not illustrated) that processes a radar sensing output).
Examples of this control may include power supply control, reset control, clock (CLK) control, data communication control, and memory control. The radar device may typically use a band of about 77 GHz or any other appropriate band, and may be configured to sense an area ahead of the vehicle. The radar processor may be configured to process data, sensed and output by the radar device, and examples of this processing may include enlargement of a sensed forward object and focusing on the area of an object in the entire visual-field area. As described above, the ADAS 100 may include the camera 110, the Lidar 120, and the radar 130, each of which may be configured to process received data, and the processed data may be transmitted to the ADAS controller 140.
Particularly, the ADAS controller 140 may be configured to process vehicle driving information based on the received data, calculate the size and position of a collision object, determine the probability of a collision, and calculate the TTC. The data processed by the ADAS controller 140 may be transmitted to the ECU as the high-ranking controller, and the ECU may be configured to adjust vertical movement of the rear end of the hood 400 based on the information received from the ADAS 100. In particular, in the case of a front end of the hood 400, one end of the hood 400, at which an active hood device 200 is positioned, may be moved upward and downward based on a hood striker (rotation axis of a hood).
The active hood device 200 may include a stationary bracket 210 which is fixed to a vehicle body, and a rotary arm 220 which is fixed and connected to the hood 400. In addition, the active hood device 200 may include a rotary bracket 230 which is rotated about a pivot pin 221 of the rotary arm 220, a first link 250 which interconnects the rotary bracket 230 and the stationary bracket 210, a second link 260 coupled between the rotary bracket 230 and the stationary bracket 210 adjacently to the first link 250, and a motor unit 240 which is integrally connected to the rotary arm 220. The stationary bracket 210 may include a shock absorption member 212 at an end thereof, which faces the rotary bracket 230, to prepare a procedure in which the hood 400 is restored after pop-up (e.g., restored to an original position).
A first end of the rotary bracket 230 may be connected to the rotary arm 220 fixed to the hood via the pivot pin 221 to be rotated and the first link 250 may connect a second end of the rotary bracket 230 to the stationary bracket 210. When power is supplied to the motor unit 240 fixed to the rotary arm 220 to rotate the motor unit 240, rotation force applied by the motor unit 240 may be transmitted to the first end of the rotary bracket 230, which is connected to the rotary arm 220 through the pivot pin 221.
In particular, when the rotary bracket 230 is rotated in conjunction with the motor unit 240, the rotary bracket 230 may be moved to reduce an angle between the rotary arm 220 and the rotary bracket 230 based on the pivot pin 221. According to an exemplary embodiment according to the present disclosure, the motor unit 240 may include a motor gear 241, and an arm rotary gear 222 may be positioned at the first end of the rotary bracket 230 to be engaged with the motor gear 241.
When the rotary bracket 230 receives rotation force from the motor unit 240 and rotates, the first end of the rotary bracket 230 coupled to the rotary arm 220 may be moved upward using the second end of the rotary bracket 230 coupled to the first link 250 as a central axis. In particular, when the rotary bracket 230 is rotated, the first link 250 and the second link 260 may be moved upward together. When the first link 250 and the second link 260 are moved upward simultaneously with the rotary bracket 230, the amount of pop-up of the hood may be increased compared with the case in which the rotary bracket 230 is simply rotated and moved up.
According to an exemplary embodiment according to the present disclosure, the active hood device 200 may include components of the rotary bracket 230, the first link 250, and the second link 260 to have a maximum amount of pop-up of the hood. A rotation radius of the rotary bracket 230 may be determined based on a position of the first link 250 and the second link 260 and, thus, according to an exemplary embodiment according to the present disclosure, based on the first end of the rotary bracket 230 coupled to the first link 250, the second end of the rotary bracket 230, which is connected to the pivot pin 221, may be rotated and moved up. The second link 260 according to the present disclosure may be configured to guide a path along which the first link 250 is rotated and moved upward and to limit an amount of upward movement of the rotary bracket 230.
According to the illustrated exemplary embodiment according to the present disclosure, when the motor unit 240 is rotated counterclockwise (e.g., toward the rear of a vehicle), the motor gear 241 may be rotated in the same direction, and the first end of the rotary bracket 230, at which the arm rotary gear 222 is positioned, may be moved upward to rotate and move the rotary bracket 230 based on the first end of the rotary bracket 230, which faces the first link 250 and the second link 260.
In addition, the first link 250 and the second link 260 may be configured to be moved upward simultaneously in a direction in which the rotary bracket 230 is moved upward and, thus, the rotary arm 220 and the hood 400 which are connected to the rotary bracket 230 may be moved up. However, when a collision does not occur, the motor unit 240 may be rotated clockwise (e.g., toward the front of a vehicle), the motor gear 241 may be rotated in the same direction as that of the motor unit 240, the rotary bracket 230 at which the arm rotary gear 222 is positioned may be rotated downward, and the first link 250 and the second link 260 may be restored to a position proximate to the stationary bracket 210, to restore the hood 400 to an original position.
Accordingly, the controller 300 according to the present disclosure may be configured to always perform pop-up and restoration of the hood 400 based on a driving direction of the motor unit 240. As described above, with regard to the rotary bracket 230 rotated by the motor gear 241, the first end of the rotary bracket 230, which faces the motor gear 241, may be moved upward by driving force applied to the motor gear 241 and, thus, the rotary bracket 230 may be rotated (moved up) about the pivot pin 221 in the same direction as the motor gear 241.
In addition, the rotary arm 220 connected to the rotary bracket 230 may be fixed to the hood 400 and may be moved upward by an angle by which the hood 400 is moved upward and, thus, the rotary arm 220 and the rotary bracket 230 may be rotated simultaneously. In summary, as illustrated in
The motor unit 240 may be operated by the controller 300. The controller 300 may be configured to adjust an amplitude of power supplied to the motor unit 240 from a battery based on vehicle operation conditions. The controller 300, configured to operate the active hood device 200, may be operated by the ADAS controller 140 or the ECU as the high-ranking controller 300.
The vehicle operation conditions may be measured via a plurality of sensor units (not illustrated) mounted within the vehicle. The ADAS controller 140 or the ECU as the high-ranking controller 300 may be configured to receive data regarding the vehicle operation conditions. The controller 300 may be configured to receive vehicle driving information from the ADAS 100, and apply drive power to the motor unit 240 to adjust the pop-up height of the hood 400 when a collision with an object is expected based on the received driving information. Examples of the received driving information may include the position of a collision object, the time-to-collision (TTC), the probability of a collision, and information regarding the collision object (e.g. height, size, and movement direction) from the ADAS controller 140. In other words, the speed and position information of the collision object may be detected by the controller to thus calculate a TTC using speed and position information of the vehicle itself.
In the present disclosure, the probability of a collision may be sorted into at least one stage. More specifically, according to an exemplary embodiment according to the present disclosure, the controller 300 may be configured to sort the probability of a collision into three stages to adjust the amount of upward movement (e.g., the amount of pop-up) of the active hood device 200 according to a low stage, a medium stage, and a high stage. In the low stage, the amount of upward movement (e.g., the amount of pop-up) of the hood 400 may be a lowest, and in the medium stage and the high stage, the amount of upward movement (e.g., the amount of pop-up) of the hood 400 may sequentially increase. In addition, in consideration of the fact that the position at which an impact is applied varies according to the height or size of a collision object, the controller 300 may be configured to set the amount of upward movement of the active hood device 200 according to the height of a collision object received from the ADAS 100.
Particularly, the controller 300 may be configured to determine the probability of a collision of the vehicle based on the vehicle driving information received from the ADAS 100 and set the pop-up height of the hood 400 based on the probability of a collision. The controller 300 may be configured to adjust driving force applied to the motor unit 240 to perform pop-up of the hood 400 and the motor unit 240 that receives the driving force may guide rotation of the rotary bracket 230. In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, the arm rotary gear 222 at which the rotary bracket 230 is positioned and the motor gear 241 coupled to the motor unit 240 may be engaged with each other to apply driving force of the motor unit 240 to the rotary bracket 230, and the applied rotation force of the motor unit 240 may be transmitted to the rotary arm 220 connected to the rotary bracket 230 through a pivot.
The rotary arm 220 may be fixedly positioned to a hood and, thus, may be rotated by a predetermined angle by the motor unit 240, and the rotary bracket 230 connected to the rotary arm 220 via a pivot may be configured to be rotated simultaneously with the rotary arm 220. When the rotary bracket 230 is rotated and moved up, the first link 250 and the second link 260 may be simultaneously moved upward and, thus, an amount of upward movement of one end of a hood, which faces a windshield, may be adjusted.
In summary, when the hood 400 is popped-up by the controller 300, the rotary arm 220 and the rotary bracket 230 may be moved upward by driving force of the motor unit 240. Particularly, when the rotary bracket 230 is moved up, the first link 250 and the second link 260 may be moved upward simultaneously with the rotary bracket 230, and the first end of the rotary bracket 230 connected to the rotary arm 220 may be moved in an upward direction of a vehicle. When the hood 400 is restored to an original position by the controller 300, the rotary arm 220, the rotary bracket 230, the first link 250, and the second link 260 may be moved to a position proximate to the stationary bracket 210 by the driving force of the motor unit 240.
The upward movement of the hood 400 may be adjusted by the controller 300. The controller 300 may be configured to receive driving information from the ADAS 100, and calculate the TTC based on the probability of a collision to set the upward movement height of the hood 400. In addition, the controller 300 may be configured to set the amount of pop-up of the hood 400, which is capable of minimizing an impact to be applied to a collision object, according to the size, height, and movement direction of the collision object.
In summary, the controller 300 of the ADAS-linked active hood apparatus 10 for always-on operation according to the present disclosure may be configured to specify a collision object based on driving information measured by the ADAS controller 140, to calculate the TTC based on the probability of a collision, and to set the amount of pop-up of the active hood device 200 according to the acquired conditions. Thus, the active hood device 200 according to the present disclosure does not merely perform pop-up, but may operate at all times to move vertically. When no collision occurs, the rear end of the hood 400 may be moved downward.
The ADAS controller 140 or the controller 300 may be configured to set the probability of a collision to at least one stage, and detect the height and size of a collision object. In addition, the ADAS controller 140 or the controller 300 may be configured to calculate the time-to-collision (TTC) as collision information. The operation condition of the hood 40 may be considered based on the received information. In response to determining that the probability of a collision is greater than a preset value, the active hood device 200 may be operated. When setting the amount of pop-up of the active hood device 200, the controller 300 may consider the probability of a collision and/or information regarding a collision object.
In addition, the controller 300 may be configured to set the amount of pop-up of the active hood device 200 in real time upon receiving information from the ADAS 100. Accordingly, the amount of pop-up of the active hood device 200 may be adjusted according to a change in driving environment. As is apparent from the above description, the following effects may be obtained by the configuration of the aforementioned components and the coupling relationship and the operation relationship between the components.
The present disclosure provides an active hood, which may be connected to and operated by an ADAS. By setting the amount of pop-up of the hood according to operation conditions, it may be possible to secure the safety of a pedestrian when a collision with a vehicle occurs. In addition, it may be possible to provide an active hood for always-on operation by a motor unit for restoring a hood to an original position when collision occurs, rather than an active hood that is able to pop up only once.
The invention has been described in detail with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof. However, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these exemplary embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2018-0132779 | Nov 2018 | KR | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9738246 | Kugler | Aug 2017 | B2 |
| 20150107929 | Kugler | Apr 2015 | A1 |
| 20190241150 | Fredriksson | Aug 2019 | A1 |
| 20200139927 | Kim | May 2020 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 109252772 | Jan 2019 | CN |
| 1604874 | Apr 2007 | EP |
| 2733025 | May 2014 | EP |
| 101510011 | Apr 2015 | KR |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20200141164 A1 | May 2020 | US |
