KR20210012790A - Method and apparatus for radar-based human body detection in vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for performing a precise rear occupant alert (ROA) function by performing a suitable ROA function by reflecting whether a driver remains in a vehicle in order to improve an operation process of a radar-based ROA system, and an apparatus thereof. According to the present invention, the method includes the following steps of: first of all, determining whether a door of a vehicle is locked; then, determining whether a driver remains in the vehicle by determining whether an Fob exists in the vehicle and is in an IGN off state, or the Fob exists outside the vehicle; determining whether to execute a driver resting function or an ROA function depending on whether the driver remains in the vehicle; and continuously performing the proper ROA function even while the driver resting function is in execution.

Description

[Method and apparatus for radar-based human body detection in vehicles}

The present invention relates to a rear occupancy alert (ROA) system, and more specifically, a radar that provides warning and information by monitoring the biometric information of the rear seat using a non-contact radar sensor and determining the presence or absence of a passenger. It relates to a method and apparatus for detecting occupants in a vehicle based.

KR 10-2013-0085833 is a technology related to conventional occupant detection and warning (ROA). 1 shows the sequence of this prior art occupant detection and alerting method.

When the vehicle is turned on, the control unit transmits a driving command signal to the radar, and the radar receives and drives the driving command signal (S10). The radar emits electromagnetic waves to the boarding area and receives electromagnetic waves reflected from the passenger or seat (S20). The radar analyzes the power distribution of the received electromagnetic wave, and compares the distribution of the analyzed received power value with a reference value (S30) (S40). Here, the reference value means the distribution of the power value of the electromagnetic wave radiated from the radar and received when there is no occupant in the boarding area. When a difference occurs in the distribution of both power values, the radar calculates the number of passengers and the location of the occupants by calculating and processing the comparison information (S50) (S60). The radar transmits the calculated number of occupants and location information to the control unit. Meanwhile, the control unit determines whether the driver leaves the driver's seat based on the weight data sensed by the driver detection unit (S70). When it is determined that the driver has left the driver's seat, the control unit notifies the driver that the occupant is in the vehicle by generating an alarm through lighting of a buzzer and/or LED (S80). In addition, the controller displays the occupant's personnel and location information received from the radar on the user interface so that the driver can know the occupant's personnel and location (S90).

In this way, in the radar-based ROA system, the presence of a passenger in the vehicle (rear seat) is determined by the process shown in FIG. 1 regardless of whether the driver remains in the vehicle.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for performing a sophisticated ROA function by reflecting whether a driver remains in a vehicle and performing an appropriate ROA function in order to improve the operation process of a radar-based rear seat occupant neglect warning (ROA) system. Is to suggest.

In order to solve the above problem, in the present invention, first, it is determined whether the door of the vehicle is locked. Next, it is determined whether the Fob exists inside the vehicle and is in the IGN off state, or whether the Fob exists outside the vehicle (in this case, whether IGN is on or off), and whether the driver remains in the vehicle. Depending on whether the driver remains in the vehicle, the execution of the ROA function or the driver's rest function is determined. Even while the driver rest function is being executed, the original ROA function continues to be performed.

Specifically, according to an aspect of the present invention, the step of determining whether the door of the vehicle is locked; Determining whether a driver is present in the vehicle while the vehicle door is locked; Executing an ROA function for detecting living organisms in the vehicle when the driver does not exist in the vehicle; And executing a function for rest of the driver when the driver is present in the vehicle, and executing the ROA function during execution of the driver rest function.

On the other hand, according to another aspect of the present invention, means for determining whether the door of the vehicle is locked; Means for determining whether a driver is present in the vehicle; ROA execution means for detecting life in the vehicle; And a driver rest function execution means for rest of the driver, wherein when the means for determining whether the driver exists in the vehicle determines that the driver does not exist in the vehicle, the ROA execution means is activated, and the driver A radar-based in-vehicle occupant detection device is provided, wherein the driver rest function execution means and the ROA execution means are activated when the means for determining whether the driver is present in the vehicle is determined to be in the vehicle.

When determining whether the driver exists in the vehicle, when the Fob does not exist in the vehicle and when the IGN is off, it is determined that the driver does not exist in the vehicle, and when the Fob exists in the vehicle, the driver is It can be determined that it exists within.

When the ROA function executed during the driver's rest function is executed, after a predetermined waiting time has elapsed after a living organism is detected in the vehicle and/or a predetermined number of times, the living organism may be detected again.

In addition, the ROA function includes a scanning step/means for determining the presence or absence of a living organism. The scanning step/means transmits a radar signal inside the vehicle to detect whether there is a biological signal inside the vehicle, and if a biological signal is detected, After a set waiting time, it may be repeatedly performed as many times as a preset number of biosignal detection.

The configuration and operation of the present invention introduced above will become more apparent through specific embodiments described with reference to the drawings.

The present invention can reduce the risk of accidents of neglected passengers and implement a more sophisticated ROA system capable of coping with emergency situations. That is, it is possible to maximize the occupant protection effect by executing an appropriate ROA depending on whether the driver remains in the vehicle.

Further, the present invention makes it possible to actively respond to laws and regulations such as North America/Europe/domestic related to occupant detection, and thus, it is possible to secure market advantage. In addition, it is possible to preoccupy the automobile-related healthcare market by using the biosignal detection technology included in the present invention.

1 is a flowchart of a conventional occupant detection and warning method
2A is a conceptual explanatory diagram of a radar-based vehicle occupant detection apparatus and method of the present invention
Figure 2b is a configuration diagram of a radar-based vehicle occupant detection device of the present invention
3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process of a method for detecting a passenger in a vehicle based on a radar according to the present invention.
4 is a flowchart illustrating a process of the scanning step of FIG. 3

Advantages and features of the present invention, and a method of achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described in detail together with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but will be implemented in various forms different from each other, only this embodiment makes the disclosure of the present invention complete, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. It is provided to fully inform the scope of the invention to the person, and the invention is defined by the description of the claims.

On the other hand, terms used in the present specification are for explaining examples and are not intended to limit the present invention. In this specification, the singular form also includes the plural form unless specifically stated in the phrase. As used in the specification, "comprise" or "comprising" means the presence of one or more other components, steps, operations and/or elements other than the mentioned elements, steps, operations and/or elements, or Does not rule out addition.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In adding reference numerals to elements of each drawing, even though they are indicated on different drawings, the same elements are assigned the same reference numerals as much as possible, and in describing the present invention, a detailed description of related known configurations or functions If the gist of the present invention may be obscured, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

First, the concept of a radar-based vehicle occupant detection method and apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B. In the present specification, it is revealed that the occupants are used interchangeably with the same meaning as living things (humans and animals).

Referring to the conceptual diagram of FIG. 2A, the present invention is schematically composed of a controller 100 (eg, an integrated body unit (IBU)) and an ROA radar module 300 for detecting a passenger in a rear seat. Communication between the controller 100 and the ROA radar module 300 may be performed using CAN communication. However, the communication method is not limited to CAN communication and can be diversified by development methods (LIN communication, etc.). Also, the controller 100 may not be implemented as an IBU, but may be implemented as a separate unit.

In FIG. 2A, the controller 100 analyzes engine status, start-up on/off, door lock, or Fob information, and when the operation setting is met, the CAN or LIN communication method with the ROA radar module 300 The ROA function trigger signal 150 is transmitted. The ROA radar module 300 receives this and performs the ROA function, and then transmits the information 160 for the presence of occupants in the vehicle (rear seat) to the controller 100 in a CAN or LIN communication method.

Looking at the configuration of the radar-based in-vehicle occupant detection device of the present invention in Figure 2b in more detail, the controller 100; It is composed of a ROA radar module 300 including an antenna and a transmission/reception unit (RF IC) 200 and a processing unit (MCU) 250. When the controller 100 sends the ROA trigger signal 150 to the ROA radar module 300, the ROA radar module 300 including the antenna and transceiver 200 and the MCU 250 performs a radar-based ROA function and , The rear seat detection information (whether there is a passenger in the vehicle) 160 is transmitted to the controller 100. Based on the received information, the controller 100 determines whether an alarm is an alarm. The antenna and transmission/reception unit 200 of the ROA radar module 300 radiates and receives radio waves for scanning the detection area, and the MCU 250 processes the received radar signal to perform a radar sensing function and The presence or absence of an occupant in the vehicle (rear seat) is determined by the detection logic.

Next, a method for detecting an occupant in a vehicle of the present invention using a device having a configuration including the controller 100 and the ROA radar module 300 described above will be schematically described.

First, when all the doors of the vehicle are locked (All Door Lock), the controller (eg, IBU) 100 determines the presence or absence of IGN on/off and Fob. According to the determination, the controller 100 executes the ROA function or the driver's rest function.

When the ROA function is executed, N=0, R=0 to the ROA radar module 300 (here, N means a scan cycle, and N increases by 1 each time a scan is performed. R is an organism detection) It means whether or not, and if an organism is detected within one cycle of the scan, R increases by 1) is set. When the ROA function in the ROA radar module 300 is operated, the presence or absence of an occupant is detected every scan and information is sent to the controller 100 using the CAN communication 150.

And when the driver rest function is executed, N=0, R=0, C=0 (here, C means the number of scan operations, and C increases by 1 when performing a scan) on the ROA radar module 300 do. When the driver's rest function is initially activated, information is sent to the controller 100 if no living body (human or animal) is found, and if a living body is detected, it is rescanned after a certain period of time (for example, after 40 minutes) and re-scanned. When is found, a signal is sent to the controller 100 so as to detect a sophisticated organism. Various methods can be used as a method of detecting the existence of living things.

The process of the radar-based vehicle occupant detection method according to the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3. The following process shows one exemplary embodiment or embodiment, and may be variously changed according to the implementation intention of the user.

S100: First, when all the doors of the vehicle are locked (All Door Lock state), the operation of the radar-based vehicle occupant detection method of the present invention starts. The controller 100 analyzes and grasps Fob information, whether the Fob is outside the vehicle or inside the vehicle through the Fob detection function. The left process of FIG. 3 represents a case where the Fob is outside the vehicle (Fob Outside), and the right process represents the case where the Fob is inside the vehicle (Fob Inside).

S200a: When it is detected that the Fob is outside the vehicle through the Fob detection function, it is checked whether IGN is on/off. When it is confirmed that IGN is on, the system enters the standby mode. If it is confirmed that the IGN is off, the Fob is outside the vehicle and the IGN is off, so in order to determine that the driver is away and detect the passengers left inside the vehicle, the controller 100 (using CAN communication) An operation signal (ROA function trigger signal) 150 is sent to the ROA radar module 300. The ROA radar module 300 receiving the operation signal from the controller 100 performs the ROA function. In FIG. 3, the upper dotted square box indicates a process performed by the radar module 300.

S300a: When the ROA function is executed in step S200a, N=0 and R=0 are set for initialization of the ROA radar module 300. Here, N denotes the number of times the ROA radar module 300 performs a radar scan of the vehicle interior, and N increases by 1 each time the scan is performed, R denotes the presence or absence of a living organism, and a living organism is detected during the scanning process. Each time R increases by 1.

S400a: The scan operation in the SCAN step is repeatedly performed several times. When determining the existence of a living organism with only one scan, errors may occur, so multiple scans are repeated. A detailed process of the scan will be described later with reference to FIG. 4.

S500a: When it is determined that a living organism (a passenger or a pet, etc.) exists as a result of the scan in step S400a, the information, that is, the information on whether there is no occupancy in FIGS. 2A and 2B is sent to the controller 100 and the controller 100 ) Performs a warning function (here, the warning function means horn, hazard, telematic, etc.). In FIG. 3, the lower dotted box refers to a process performed by the controller 100.

S600a: On the other hand, when the ROA radar module 300 determines that there is no living organism in step S400a, it sends the occupant presence information 160 including the result, that is, no occupant information to the controller 100, and the controller receiving it (100) terminates the ROA function.

The following describes the process on the right side of Fig. 3, that is, the process of the present invention performed when the Fob is inside the vehicle.

S200b: When the Fob is inside the vehicle, the controller 100 determines that the driver is inside the vehicle regardless of whether IGN is on/off. And the controller 100 sends an operation signal (trigger signal) 150 to the ROA radar module 300 (using CAN communication). The ROA radar module 300 receiving the operation signal from the controller 100 executes the driver rest function (driver rest function ON). Here, the driver's rest function refers to a function of assisting the driver's rest in the vehicle by providing the driver with air conditioning, music, window opening and closing, an alarm function, or a combination thereof.

S300b: During the execution of the driver's rest function started in step S200b, the ROA radar module 300 performs a scan for detecting a bio-signal. For this, first, in the ROA radar module, N=0, R=0, and C=0 are set to initialize the scan. Here, N denotes the number of times the ROA radar module 300 performs a radar scan of the vehicle interior, and increases by 1 each time a scan is performed. R means the presence or absence of an organism and increases by 1 each time an organism is detected in the scanning process. C denotes the number of times the scan step S400b is processed, and increases by 1 each time the scan step is processed.

S400b: Similar to the left process, which is the process when the Fob is outside the vehicle, the internal process of the scan step determines the existence of a living organism through several scans. This is because errors can occur when determining the existence of living organisms with only one scan. As a result of the scan in the driver's rest mode, if a living body exists, step S500b is executed, and if a living body does not exist, this information is transmitted to the controller 100 and the process is terminated at step 700b in the controller 100. . A more detailed description of the scan will be described later with reference to FIG. 4.

S500b, S550b: In the previous step S400b, if there is a living organism, C is increased by 1 to scan again (C=C+1). And it is checked whether C = 2 (S500b). That is, in the case of this embodiment, since'C = 0, 1, 2'is determined, it is set to perform three scan steps. When it is determined in step S500b that C=2 has not yet been performed, a waiting time of a specific time (40 minutes in this embodiment) is passed in step S550b, and then the scan step (S400b) is repeated by resetting to R=0. In step S500b, when C=2 and it is determined that a living organism exists as a result of exiting the scan routine, the ROA radar module 300 finally transmits the occupant presence information to the controller 100.

S600b: In step S500b, when the ROA radar module 300 transmits the occupant presence information, the controller 100 receives it and continues the driver rest function.

S700b: If it is determined that there is no life even when scanning again, the ROA radar module 300 sends the no occupant information containing the result to the controller 100, and the controller 100 terminates the process accordingly. In addition, the controller 100 terminates the process on the right side of FIG. 3 at the end of the driver rest function S600b.

Now, as mentioned above, a detailed processing flow of the scanning step in FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIG. 4. Although it is repeated explanation, the scanning step (S400a and S400b in FIG. 3) is a procedure for determining the existence of an organism.

S410: When the controller 100 sends an operation signal, that is, the ROA trigger signal 150 to the ROA radar module 300, the ROA radar module 300 performs a scan. That is, the ROA radar module 300 transmits an RF signal (radar signal) inside the vehicle and starts detection inside the vehicle, and detects whether there is a biological signal indicating the existence of a living organism inside the vehicle. If the bio-signal is detected, the flow proceeds to step S420, and if no bio-signal is detected, the flow proceeds to step S430.

S420: When a bio-signal is detected in the previous step S410, the existing R value is increased by 1 (R=R+1). Here, as mentioned above, R is a kind of threshold value and means the number of bio-signals detected, and the initial value is 0 (see S300a and S300b in FIG. 3).

S430: If the biosignal is not detected in the previous step S410, the existing R value is maintained (R=R).

S440: After one bio-signal detection (S410) is finished, the user has a predetermined waiting time until the next bio-signal is detected (in the embodiment of FIG. 4, the waiting time is set to 2 minutes). The reason for setting the waiting time is to minimize errors in the scan function by scanning the observation area discontinuously (that is, checking the existence of life in the vehicle).

S450: Whenever biosignal detection is performed once (S410), the existing N value is increased by 1 (N=N+1). As mentioned above, N means the number of bio-signals detection, and the initial value is 0. In this step S450, the bio-signal detection (S410) and the standby mode (S440) are repeated until the N value reaches a predetermined N value (in the embodiment of FIG. 4, the N value is set to 5), and the N value is When the set value of N is reached (ie, N = 5), the process proceeds to step S460.

S460: If the N value is equal to the N value set in step S450, the scan function is terminated after outputting the R value in step S460 (here, the R value is a kind of threshold value and the user can set the desired value) .

The present invention described above can be implemented in terms of a device or a method. In particular, a function or process of each component of the present invention is a digital signal processor (DSP), a processor, a controller, and an application-specific application-specific (ASIC). IC), programmable logic devices (FPGA, etc.), and at least one of other electronic devices, and a combination of these can be implemented as hardware elements. It can also be implemented as software in combination with hardware elements or independently, and this software can be stored on a recording medium.

Until now, the configuration of the present invention has been described in detail through preferred embodiments of the present invention, but those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains, the present invention is disclosed in the present specification without changing the technical spirit or essential features. It will be appreciated that it may be implemented in a specific form different from that of. It should be understood that the embodiments described above are illustrative in all respects and not limiting. The scope of protection of the present invention is determined by the claims described later rather than the detailed description, and all changes or modifications derived from the scope of the claims and their equivalent concepts should be interpreted as being included in the technical scope of the present invention. .

Claims (12)

Determining whether a door of the vehicle is locked;
Determining whether a driver is present in the vehicle while the vehicle door is locked;
Executing an ROA function for detecting living organisms in the vehicle when the driver does not exist in the vehicle; And
A radar-based vehicle occupant detection method comprising the step of executing a function for rest of the driver when the driver is present in the vehicle, but executing the ROA function while the driver rest function is being executed. In claim 1, the step of determining whether the driver is in the vehicle
Including the step of determining whether the Fob is inside the vehicle and the IGN on/off state
When the Fob does not exist inside the vehicle and when the IGN is off, it is determined that the driver does not exist in the vehicle,
A radar-based vehicle occupant detection method, characterized in that it is determined that the driver exists in the vehicle when the Fob exists inside the vehicle. In claim 1, the driver rest function executed when the driver is present in the vehicle is
A radar-based vehicle occupant detection method, characterized in that at least one selected from among air conditioning, music, window opening and closing, and alarm functions provided to a driver. In claim 1, the step of executing the ROA function during the driver rest function executed when the driver is present in the vehicle
A radar-based vehicle occupant detection method, characterized in that, after a predetermined waiting time elapses after the living organism is detected in the vehicle, the detection of the living organism is performed again. In claim 1, the step of executing the ROA function during the driver rest function executed when the driver is present in the vehicle
A radar-based vehicle occupant detection method, characterized in that after detecting a living body in a vehicle, the living body is detected a predetermined number of times. In claim 1, the ROA function executed in the step of executing the ROA function when the driver does not exist in the vehicle and the step of executing the ROA function during execution of the driver rest function when the driver is present in the vehicle
Including a scanning step to determine the existence of living organisms,
In this scanning step, a radar signal is transmitted inside the vehicle to detect whether there is a biological signal in the vehicle, and when a biological signal is detected, it is repeatedly performed as many times as a preset number of biological signal detections after a preset waiting time. How to detect occupants. Means for determining whether a door of the vehicle is locked;
Means for determining whether a driver is present in the vehicle;
ROA execution means for detecting life in the vehicle; And
Including means for executing a driver rest function for rest of the driver,
When the means for determining whether the driver is present in the vehicle determines that the driver does not exist in the vehicle, the ROA execution means is activated,
The radar-based in-vehicle occupant detection device, characterized in that the driver rest function execution means and the ROA execution means are activated when the means for determining whether the driver is present in the vehicle determines that the driver exists in the vehicle. In claim 7, the means for determining whether the driver is in the vehicle
When the Fob does not exist inside the vehicle and when the IGN is off, it is determined that the driver does not exist in the vehicle, and when the Fob exists inside the vehicle, it is configured to determine that the driver exists in the vehicle. A radar-based vehicle occupant detection device. In claim 7, wherein the driver rest function execution means
A radar-based vehicle occupant detection device, characterized in that configured to activate at least one selected from among vehicle air conditioning, music, window opening and closing, and alarm functions. The method of claim 7, wherein the ROA execution means activated when the driver is present in the vehicle
A radar-based in-vehicle occupant detection device, characterized in that configured to perform detection of the living organism again after a predetermined waiting time elapses after the living organism is detected in the vehicle. The method of claim 7, wherein the ROA execution means activated when the driver is present in the vehicle
A radar-based in-vehicle occupant detection device, characterized in that configured to perform the detection of the living organism a predetermined number of times after the living organism is detected in the vehicle. The method of claim 7, wherein the ROA execution means activated when the driver does not exist in the vehicle and when the driver exists in the vehicle is
Including a scanning means to determine the existence of living things,
This scanning means transmits a radar signal inside the vehicle to detect whether there is a biosignal inside the vehicle, and when a biosignal is detected, it is repeatedly executed as many times as a preset biosignal detection number after a predetermined waiting time. Occupant detection device.

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