JP2024050481A - Vehicles including cargo space - Google Patents

Abstract

A vehicle includes a cargo space.
The invention relates to a vehicle 1 including a cargo space 6 and including a cargo monitoring system for detecting cargo 8 in the cargo space 6, the cargo monitoring system comprising a first sensor device 10, a second sensor device 12 and an evaluation unit 14. In order to reliably detect the movement of cargo in the cargo space, it is proposed that the first sensor device 10 is configured to detect the cargo 8 at a first position, the second sensor device 12 is configured to detect the cargo 8 at a second position spaced apart from the first position, and the evaluation unit 14 is configured to output a warning signal based on a chronological order of the detection of the cargo 8 by the first sensor device 10 and the second sensor device 12. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for detecting the movement of cargo 8 in the cargo space 6 of the vehicle 1.
[Selected Figure] Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle including a cargo space and including a cargo monitoring system for detecting cargo in the cargo space, the cargo monitoring system having a first sensor device, a second sensor device, and an evaluation device. The present invention further relates to a method for detecting movement of cargo in a cargo space of a vehicle, the cargo being detected at a first location in the cargo space.

Such vehicles are known as commercial vehicles, i.e. trucks, and the sensor device is used to detect whether cargo in the rear area of the vehicle has fallen out of the cargo area. If such a loss of cargo occurs, the driver of the commercial vehicle can thus be informed thereof, for example by a warning message.

The object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle of the type mentioned at the beginning, which allows reliable detection of the movement of cargo in the cargo space. In addition, the object of the present invention is to identify a reliable method for detecting the movement of cargo in the cargo space of a vehicle.

The above-mentioned first object is achieved by the present invention in that a first sensor device is configured to sense cargo at a first position, a second sensor device is configured to sense cargo at a second position spaced from the first position, and an evaluation device is configured to output a warning signal based on a chronological order of sensing of the cargo by the first sensor device and the second sensor device.

A particular advantage of the vehicle according to the invention is that a warning is not issued only if, for example, cargo falls out of the cargo space, but a warning signal is already output when it is detected (i.e. detected by the evaluation device) that the cargo is moving, since the cargo is sensed at different times by the first and second sensor devices. It is therefore advantageous that in a vehicle according to the invention, for example an unstable driving state of the vehicle, due to cargo slipping, can already be predicted at a very early stage and said state can lead to a warning signal. The invention not only improves the information available to the driver of the vehicle, for example, but also increases the driving safety of the vehicle in particular and additionally road safety.

The vehicle may in particular be a commercial motor vehicle, such as a truck or a tractor unit, or a commercial motor vehicle trailer, such as an articulated drawbar trailer or semi-trailer, i.e. the vehicle does not necessarily have to be self-propelled. The vehicle may for example be an articulated vehicle consisting of a truck and a trailer or an articulated vehicle consisting of a tractor unit and a semi-trailer. The cargo space may for example be closed or open on top. The cargo is preferably general cargo, for example a more or less cubic load (for example loaded transport pallets). However, the cargo may in principle also be bulk cargo.

The first sensor device is configured to sense the cargo at a first location, in particular at a first time point, and the second sensor device is configured to sense the cargo at a second location, in particular at a second time point different from the first time point. The second location is spaced apart from the first location, i.e., the first location and the second location are therefore different.

The evaluation device is configured to output a warning signal based on a chronological order of the sensing of the cargo by the first sensor device and the second sensor device, i.e., the cargo is first sensed by one of the two sensor devices and then by the other sensor device.

The warning signal may be, for example, a visual signal displayed to the vehicle driver at the driver's workstation in the vehicle or, for example, an audible signal. The two sensor devices sensing cargo at different times is an indication of cargo movement and leads to the output of a warning signal.

According to one advantageous development of the invention, the second sensor device is configured to sense cargo at a cargo space boundary of the cargo space, and the first sensor device is configured to sense cargo at a distance from the cargo space boundary, and the evaluation device is configured to output a warning signal or an additional warning signal if the cargo is first sensed by the first sensor device, then by the second sensor device, and then no longer sensed by the first sensor device. This is particularly advantageous in that, for example, not only does cargo slipping generally lead to a warning signal, but the warning signal additionally indicates that the cargo is moving at the cargo space boundary and thus that the cargo has already been lost or is at least about to be lost. In this development, the warning signal is therefore also additionally a cargo loss signal. The warning signal according to this development can alternatively be an additional warning signal, such that the warning signal generally indicates the movement of the cargo and the additional warning signal indicates the loss of the cargo. According to this development, the second sensor device is configured to sense the cargo at the cargo space boundary, which includes sensing the cargo at a short distance from the cargo space boundary or near or in close proximity to the cargo space boundary. The cargo space may be open (e.g., have an open cargo area) or closed (e.g., bounded by a cargo space door or tail lift or vehicle panel) at the cargo space boundary. According to this development, the first sensor device is configured to sense cargo at a distance from the cargo space boundary, i.e. at a greater distance from the cargo space boundary than the second sensor device.

The cargo space boundary is conceivably formed, for example, by a side panel of the vehicle. In contrast, according to one development of the invention, it is particularly advantageous if the cargo space boundary is a loading opening of the cargo space. That cargo space boundary is the most vulnerable in terms of its stability due to the regular opening and closing which necessarily occurs when loading and unloading the vehicle and can therefore be monitored in a particularly reliable manner. The cargo space boundary can be closed, for example, by a cargo space door or, for example, a cargo space tailgate, for example a tail lift. In this case, the cargo space boundary is formed by the cargo space door in the closed state or the cargo space tailgate in the closed state. In the case of cargo movement, there is a risk that such a cargo space door or cargo space tailgate, especially if it is not properly locked after closing, will be pushed open by the cargo and, as a result, there is a risk that the cargo will fall out of the cargo space.

According to another development of the invention, if the first sensor device and/or the second sensor device each have a row of sensors, i.e. the sensor elements of each sensor device are arranged linearly, a simplified design of the cargo monitoring system and at the same time an effective sensing of cargo movement is advantageously achieved. The row of sensors has at least two sensor elements.

According to an advantageous development of the invention, the first sensor device and/or the second sensor device are arranged on the cargo space floor of the cargo space or on the cargo space ceiling of the cargo space, respectively. In this way, the risk of the respective sensor device being damaged, for example during loading and unloading operations or by the cargo itself, can be effectively reduced. Such a sensor device, for example, has a reflective light barrier and its transmitter and receiver are arranged on the cargo space ceiling.

According to another advantageous development of the invention, a particularly inexpensive and simple design of the cargo monitoring system can be realized if the first sensor device has at least one optical sensor and/or the second sensor device has at least one optical sensor. Such a sensor device with an optical sensor can be or can have, for example, a camera including an image evaluation device or a light barrier.

According to another advantageous development of the invention, the vehicle has a motion monitoring device, which is configured to sense the motion state of the vehicle, and the evaluation device is configured to output a warning signal based on the motion state of the vehicle sensed by the motion monitoring device. Such a motion state can be, for example, a stationary state or a moving vehicle. The warning signal according to the invention is output by the evaluation device based on the motion state of the vehicle sensed by the motion monitoring device, although the same applies to the above-mentioned additional warning signals that may optionally be present. The motion monitoring device and the sensing of the motion state of the vehicle can be advantageously and additionally used to prevent false reports (i.e. misleading warning signals), for example during loading or unloading operations where cargo movements naturally occur.

The above-mentioned second object is achieved according to the invention by a method of the type mentioned at the outset, in which cargo is sensed in a cargo space at a second location spaced apart from the first location, and a warning signal is generated when the cargo is sensed in a chronological order first at one of the two locations and then at the other of the two locations. In this case, the first sensor device is preferably used to sense the cargo at the first location. The second sensor device is preferably used to sense the cargo at the second location. The cargo is thus sensed in a chronological order, in particular first by the first sensor device and then thereafter by the second sensor device. Due to the chronological order provided according to the invention, a warning signal is issued if the cargo moves.

According to one advantageous development of the invention, the second location is arranged at a cargo space boundary of the cargo space and the first location is arranged at a distance from the cargo space boundary, and the warning signal or the additional warning signal is generated if cargo is first sensed at the first location, then at the second location, and then no longer sensed at the first location. In this way, the warning signal or the additional warning signal is additionally also a cargo loss signal.

According to another advantageous development of the invention, in order to simplify the signal generation and make the warning signal easily detectable, for example by the vehicle driver, the generated warning signal is a visual and/or audible signal. The same applies to the above-mentioned additional warning signals which may optionally be present. A visual signal can be, for example, the lighting of a symbol on a display of the vehicle driver's workstation. An audible signal can be, for example, the output of a warning sound by an audio element, such as a speaker, of the driver's workstation.

According to another advantageous development of the invention, the operating state of the vehicle is sensed and a warning signal is generated only if the detected operating state is a driving operation of the vehicle. The same applies to the above-mentioned additional warning signals which may optionally be present. The operating state is, for example, a stationary state of the vehicle or a driving operation of the vehicle. The driving operation corresponds to the driving of the vehicle. The driving operation can be sensed, for example, by a vehicle operation monitoring device. Such a development of the invention advantageously additionally enables the prevention of erroneous reports, in particular misleading warning signals, for example during loading or unloading operations of the vehicle.

The present invention also comprises developments of the method according to the invention which have the features as already described in connection with the developments of the vehicle according to the invention, and vice versa. For this reason, the corresponding developments of the method according to the invention or the vehicle according to the invention will not be described again here.

The present invention also includes combinations of features of the described embodiments.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described in more detail below based on simplified and schematic diagrams.

FIG. 1 shows a side view of a vehicle including a cargo monitoring system. 2 shows a top view of the vehicle according to FIG. 1; 2 shows a rear view of the vehicle according to FIG. 1 . A semi-trailer is shown loaded with cargo in a first position. The semi-trailer according to FIG. 4 is shown loaded with cargo in a second position. The semi-trailer according to FIG. 4 is shown loaded with cargo in a third position.

Corresponding elements are given the same reference numbers in all figures.

Figure 1 shows a side view of a vehicle 1, which in this exemplary embodiment is a commercial vehicle, i.e. specifically a combination vehicle, here in the form of a tractor unit 2 to which a semi-trailer 4 is attached. The vehicle 1, i.e. more specifically the semi-trailer 4 of the vehicle 1, has a cargo space 6 and a cargo monitoring system for detecting cargo 8 in the cargo space 6.

The cargo monitoring system comprises a first sensor device 10 and a second sensor device 12. Furthermore, the cargo monitoring system comprises an evaluation device 14. In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, the evaluation device 14 is arranged in the tractor unit 2 of the vehicle 1. However, in alternative exemplary embodiments, the evaluation device 14 may be arranged, for example, in the semi-trailer 4.

The first sensor device 10 is configured to sense cargo 8 at a first position within the cargo space 6 of the semi-trailer 4. The second sensor device 12 is configured to sense cargo 8 at a second position within the cargo space 6 of the semi-trailer 4, the second position being spaced from the first position. The evaluation device 14 is configured to output a warning signal based on a chronological order of sensing of cargo 8 by the first sensor device 10 and the second sensor device 12.

In the configuration shown here, a warning signal is therefore output in case of movement of cargo 8 towards the cargo space boundary 16 of the cargo space 6. The cargo space boundary 16 is here formed by the loading opening of the cargo space 6. In this exemplary embodiment, the cargo space opening is closed by the cargo space doors 18, 20 (see FIG. 3), whereby the cargo space doors 18, 20 also form the cargo space boundary 16 in the closed state shown here.

The second sensor device 12 is configured to sense the cargo 8 at the cargo space boundary 16 of the cargo space 6, and the first sensor device 10 is configured to sense the cargo 8 at a distance from the cargo space boundary 16. Furthermore, in this exemplary embodiment, the evaluation device 14 is configured to output an additional warning signal if the cargo 8 is first sensed by the first sensor device 10, then by the second sensor device 12, and finally is no longer sensed by the first sensor device 10.

This additional warning signal is a cargo loss signal because it means that the cargo 8 in the cargo space 6 has moved towards the cargo space boundary 16, i.e. in the direction of the right arrow of the double-headed arrow 22 depicted in FIG. 1 for clarity, and has crossed the cargo space boundary 16 in the course of further movement of the cargo 8, and thus has fallen out of the cargo space 6, or at least is about to fall out of the cargo space 6. In this exemplary embodiment, the cargo 8 pushes open the cargo space doors 18, 20 as it moves.

In this exemplary embodiment, both the first sensor device 10 and the second sensor device 12 each have an array of sensors (see FIG. 2). The first sensor device 10 is here arranged on the cargo space floor 24 of the cargo space 6. The second sensor device 12 is arranged on the cargo space ceiling 26 of the cargo space 6. As an example, the first sensor device 10 and/or the second sensor device 12 may have an array of reflective light barriers or may be in the form of, for example, a light grid.

The vehicle 1 further includes an operation monitoring device 28. The operation monitoring device 28 is connected to the evaluation device 14 for signaling purposes. The operation monitoring device 28 is configured to sense an operation state of the vehicle 1, and the evaluation device 14 is configured to output a warning signal and an additional warning signal based on the operation state of the vehicle 1 sensed by the operation monitoring device 28.

The warning signal (as well as the additional warning signal) can be displayed visually, for example by a display arranged at the driver's workstation 30 in the tractor unit 2 of the vehicle 1. By way of example, the warning signal can alternatively or additionally be audibly communicated to the driver of the vehicle 1, for example by an audio element arranged at the driver's workstation 30.

Figures 4 to 6 show the sequence of a method for detecting the movement of cargo 8 in the cargo space 6 of a vehicle 1 (see Figure 1), i.e. here the cargo space 6 of a semi-trailer 4. The cargo 8 is first sensed at a first position (see Figure 4) in the cargo space 6 by a first sensor device 10. The first position is located at a distance from the cargo space boundary 16.

The cargo 8 is then sensed by a second sensor device 12 in the cargo space 6 at a second location spaced from the first location (see FIG. 5). A warning signal is generated and output, for example to the vehicle driver, indicating the movement of the cargo 8 in the cargo space 6. The second location is located proximate to the cargo space boundary 16 of the cargo space 6, or more specifically, the cargo space boundary 16 of the cargo space 6.

In the next method step, as the cargo 8 moves out of the cargo space 6 in the direction of the arrow 32 (see FIG. 4), the cargo 8 continues to be sensed in the second position by the second sensor device 12 but is no longer sensed in the first position by the first sensor device 10 (see FIG. 6). In this case, a warning signal is generated, which is a cargo loss signal, indicating that the cargo 8 has completely fallen out of the cargo space 6 or is at least about to fall out.

This warning signal may be generated in the form of a single warning signal (e.g. in the form of a visual signal, e.g. with increased flashing frequency or e.g. in the form of an audible signal with increased volume) indicating the movement of cargo 8 within the cargo space 6, or may be additional warning signals as described above with respect to Figures 1 to 3.

As shown on the basis of an exemplary embodiment, a warning signal is reliably generated using simple means in the vehicle 1 and in an equally simple manner in case of movement of the cargo 8 in the cargo space 6 of the vehicle 1 and additionally and optionally also in case of the cargo 8 falling out of the cargo space 6.

REFERENCE NUMERALS 1 vehicle 2 tractor unit 4 semi-trailer 6 cargo space 8 cargo 10 first sensor device 12 second sensor device 14 evaluation device 16 cargo space boundary 18 cargo space door 20 cargo space door 22 double-headed arrow 24 cargo space floor 26 cargo space ceiling 28 motion monitoring device 30 workstation 32 arrow

Claims (11)

A vehicle (1), in particular a land vehicle, in particular a commercial vehicle, comprising a cargo space (6) and a cargo monitoring system for detecting cargo (8) in the cargo space (6), the cargo monitoring system having a first sensor device (10), a second sensor device (12) and an evaluation device (14), the first sensor device (10) configured to detect the cargo (8) at a first position, the second sensor device (12) configured to detect the cargo at a second position spaced from the first position, the evaluation device (14) configured to output a warning signal based on a chronological order of detection of the cargo (8) by the first sensor device (10) and the second sensor device (12). The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the second sensor device (12) is configured to sense the cargo (8) at a cargo space boundary (16) of the cargo space (6), the first sensor device (10) is configured to sense the cargo (8) at a distance from the cargo space boundary (16), and the evaluation device (14) is configured to output the warning signal or an additional warning signal when the cargo (8) is first sensed by the first sensor device (10), then by the second sensor device (12), and then is no longer sensed by the first sensor device (10). The vehicle of claim 2, wherein the cargo space boundary (16) is a loading opening of the cargo space (6). The vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first sensor device (10) and/or the second sensor device (12) each have an array of sensors. The vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first sensor device (10) and/or the second sensor device (12) are arranged on a cargo space floor (24) of the cargo space (6) or on a cargo space ceiling (26) of the cargo space (6), respectively. The vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first sensor device (10) has at least one optical sensor and/or the second sensor device (12) has at least one optical sensor. The vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising an operation monitoring device (28), the operation monitoring device (28) configured to sense an operation state of the vehicle (1), and the evaluation device (14) configured to output the warning signal based on the operation state of the vehicle (1) sensed by the operation monitoring device (28). A method for detecting the movement of cargo (8) in a cargo space (6) of a vehicle (1), in particular a vehicle (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the cargo (8) is sensed at a first position in the cargo space (6), the cargo (8) is sensed at a second position in the cargo space (6) spaced apart from the first position, and a warning signal is generated when the cargo (8) is sensed, in chronological order, first at one of the two positions and then at the other of the two positions. The method according to claim 8, wherein the second location is located at a cargo space boundary (16) of the cargo space (6) and the first location is located at a distance from the cargo space boundary (16), and the warning signal or an additional warning signal is generated when the cargo (8) is first sensed at the first location, then at the second location, and then no longer sensed at the first location. The method of claim 8 or 9, wherein the generated warning signal is a visual signal and/or an audible signal. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein an operating state of the vehicle (1) is sensed and the warning signal is generated only when the detected operating state is a driving operation of the vehicle (1).

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