DE102018201531A1 - Method for detecting a driving tube in rail-bound vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

In the area of rail-bound vehicles, driver assistance systems known to date from the automotive industry have received very little access, such as collision warning and avoidance systems. This is due in particular to an inaccurate and unreliable detection of the driving tube, which is necessary for collision detection, due to a lack of possibility of steering angle detection and lack of optical road markings in rail vehicles. The present invention discloses a possibility of reliable determination of the driving route, taking advantage of the rail binding of rail vehicles, on the basis of a digital route network stored in a database, as well as the current position and movement data of the vehicle. Thus, it is the basis for the application of collision warning and avoidance systems in rail traffic and thus contributes to a significant increase in safety in modern road traffic.

Description

The present invention relates to a method for detecting a driving tube in rail-bound vehicles, for use as aids for collision avoidance in the field of driver assistance systems.

Driver assistance systems help the driver to perform his tasks as the driver of a vehicle and are state of the art in the field of railless motor vehicles. Systems such as a preceding vehicle distance control, or lane keeping or lane assistants play an important role in the prevention of accidents in dense road traffic. A particularly large contribution is made by collision warning and accident prevention systems.

These detect obstacles on the lane, which can lead to a collision and pass on the information about a warning generation system by optical, acoustic or haptic signals. If the driver is unresponsive, measures can even be taken to bring the vehicle to a standstill in good time before contact with the obstacle, or at least to significantly reduce the impact energy, thus minimizing possible damage.

Most collision warning systems of this type work with collision calculation with a so-called driving tube. The driving tube determines the area that the vehicle passes through with its light profile in the expected lane. He thus describes a trajectory in which the vehicle will move in one or more subsequent time period (s).

By measuring the current steering angle and other vehicle parameters, it is possible to obtain precise information about the course of the driving tube. In addition to the steering angle, optical sensors, such as cameras, for example, which detect and record road markings such as center lines or side strips, are mostly used to determine the driving lane.

However, these driving hoses usually have a growing with the distance to the vehicle blur, since the course of a driving hose as mentioned depends on the current steering angle and thus the operation of the driver and the steering wheel of the driver can not be fully predicted as a rule.

To detect the environment and thus to detect potentially colliding objects and obstacles, optical sensors as well as radar, lidar or ultrasonic sensors are also used.

Analysis modules determine the current situation from the recorded driving distance of the vehicle and the sensor data and then take measures to avoid accidents, such as the triggering of one or more warning levels, up to the intervention in the braking system.

Collision warning and avoidance systems for rail vehicles are still being tested and are not yet widely used. A major problem in this case is the determination of an exact driving lane, since rail vehicles such as trams often pass through sharp curves of 90 ° and more and optical sensor systems the driving route, and possibly collision-causing obstacles can detect only insufficiently aligned by too little in the direction of travel sensor orientation. Furthermore, rail tracks generally lack optical markings, which are a prerequisite for detection of the drive line by optical sensors. In addition, the inclusion of a steering angle in rail vehicles is not possible. Thus, a reliable and accurate recording of the driving tube according to conventional known means from the railless traffic can not be implemented.

Nevertheless, safety, driver assistance systems and, in particular, collision warning and accident avoidance systems must be available to participants in modern road traffic.

Against this background, it is an object of the method according to the invention, the device according to the invention and the analysis module according to the invention to offer a possibility for reliable and precise detection of the roadway hose in order to apply the advantages of modern driver assistance systems also to rail-bound vehicles.

This object is achieved by a method and with a device according to the independent claims. For precise and reliable detection of the driving tube, the course of the route is recorded. Since rail vehicles such as trams run exclusively on a fixed rail network, thus the path to be covered of the vehicle can be definitely determined.

The acquired digital route network can be stored in a database and is thus available for future journeys. In connection With the current position of the vehicle and its movement data, such as acceleration and speed, which must also be detected, thus the driving tube can be determined very accurately with a device according to the invention.

Advantageous developments are the subject of the dependent claims.

Saving further route information, such as a curve profile, a speed profile or a height profile when transferring the route network into a digital route network in a database according to claim 3, allows the further use of the relevant data for other systems to increase the safety or efficiency of the drive. Usable applications are, for example, a speed warning system in case of exceeding a maximum velocity stored as a speed profile or a system that can use the height profile of a route for improving the efficiency of the drive. Thus, important aspects such as safety and consumption reduction can be further improved.

A transfer of the route network into a digital route network with the aid of a location technology such as GPS according to claim 4, represents a reliable and technically simple way to implement the transfer of the route network.

The same applies to the acquisition of the movement data with the help of a location technology.

The detection of the speed and the acceleration as movement data, allows a more precise alignment of the sensors and a more precise calculation of the driving tube and also allows as previously described the applicability of further safety-relevant technology, such as a speed warning system.

The inclusion of a time stamp according to claim 7, allows a comparatively easy assignment between the respective position data and movement data.

The invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIG 1 , which shows a block diagram for illustrating the sequence of the method, explained in more detail.

Embodiment:

First, the physical route network 1 into a digital route network 2 transferred via GPS and stored in a database. In addition, the position data 4 of the vehicle from the current position 3 of the vehicle is also detected by GPS together with an associated time stamp containing the information of the recorded time. Likewise, the current movement data 6 of the vehicle, such as speed and acceleration, via appropriate sensors also recorded with a time stamp.

The information thus obtained of the current position data 4 and the current transaction data 6 together with the digital route network to a device for determining the driving lane 9 passed. There, the current position data 4 into the digital route network 2 placed and the movement data 6 based on the time stamp for the corresponding position data 4 assigned. Thus, the driving tube detection device 9 the driving tube 10 determine.

The information obtained from the driving tube is used to determine the orientation of the sensors 11 to optimize in the direction of the movement of the vehicle, so as to better capture potential collision-causing objects and the relevant for the driving route environment.

Furthermore, the information is combined with the data of the object / environment detection 8th passing through the sensors 12 , such as optical sensors, radar sensors or the like, have been detected for detection of collision-causing objects and the environment, to an analysis module 11 passed. The analysis module then decides on the basis of the given information about the measures that are taken for collision prevention. Measures can range from audible or visual warning signals to an intervention in the braking system of the vehicle.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1

route network

2

Digital route network

3

Position of the vehicle

4

position data

5

Movement of the vehicle

6

Transaction data

7

Surroundings

8th

Data of object / environment detection

9

Device for determining the driving tube

10

driving tube

11

analysis module

12

sensors

Claims (11)

Method for detecting a driving tube (10) of rail-bound vehicles, comprising the following steps: (A) providing a route network (1) on which the vehicle moves in a digital route network (2); (B) determining a current position (3) of the vehicle and generating current position data (4) of the vehicle; (C) detecting a current movement (5) of the vehicle and generating current movement data (6) of the vehicle; (D) determining the driving tube (10) based on the acquired data from the steps (A), (B) and (C). Method according to Claim 1 in which the route network (1) is transferred to a digital route network (2). Method according to Claim 1 or 2 , wherein the digital route network (2) from step (A) has a profile of the rails and / or curve profiles and / or height profiles and / or velocity profiles of the route network (1) and the associated data are stored as geodata. Method according to one of Claims 1 to 3 wherein the transferring of the route network (1) into a digital route network (2) in step (A) is carried out using a location technology. Method according to one of Claims 1 to 4 wherein the acquisition of the movement data (6) in step (C) is performed using a location technology. Method according to one of Claims 1 to 4 wherein the detection of the movement data (6) in step (C) is performed using on-vehicle data. Method according to one of Claims 1 to 6 wherein the current movement data (6) in step (C) comprises an acceleration and a speed of the vehicle on the rails. Method according to one of Claims 1 to 7 , wherein in the detection of the current position data (4) and the current movement data (6) in step (B) or step (C), a time stamp is detected. Device configured to determine a driving tube (10) according to step (D) Claim 1 wherein the device comprises at least one data memory, a CPU unit, a data input section and a data output section. Device according to Claim 9 wherein the device is configured to perform the assignment of the current movement data (6) and the current position data (4) of the vehicle based on a time stamp of the movement data (6) and the position data (4). Analysis module (11) comprising a device for determining a driving tube according to Claim 9 or 10 , wherein the analysis module is adapted to initiate warning measures or measures for collision avoidance based on the driving tube and the data of the object / environment recognition (8).

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