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DE-102024132588-A1 - Direction indicator unit for a motor vehicle, and a warning procedure for a motor vehicle

DE102024132588A1DE 102024132588 A1DE102024132588 A1DE 102024132588A1DE-102024132588-A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a direction indicator unit for a motor vehicle, comprising at least the following components: - a control element for user input to indicate an intended change of direction of the motor vehicle; - a control unit for setting a direction signal based on user input via the control element; and - a signaling device for outputting the direction signal. The direction indicator unit is characterized in particular by the fact that the direction indicator unit has a sensor unit for detecting the actuation speed, actuation acceleration and/or actuation intensity of the user input, and a warning signal based on the detected actuation speed, actuation acceleration and/or actuation intensity can be defined by the control unit and output by means of the signaling device. A direction indicator unit is proposed to warn other road users of a sudden turn.

Inventors

  • Michael Weidner

Assignees

  • DR. ING. H.C. F. PORSCHE AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20241108

Claims (10)

  1. Direction indicator unit (1) for a motor vehicle (2), comprising at least the following components: - a control element (3) for user input to indicate an intended change of direction of the motor vehicle (2); - a control unit (4) for setting a direction signal based on the user input via the control element (3); and - a signaling device (5) for outputting the direction signal, characterized in that the direction indicator unit (1) has a sensor unit for detecting the actuation speed, actuation acceleration and/or actuation intensity of the user input, and a warning signal based on the detected actuation speed, actuation acceleration and/or actuation intensity can be set by means of the control unit (4) and output by means of the signaling device (5).
  2. Direction indicator unit (1) to Claim 1 , where the warning signal is a light signal and/or an acoustic signal.
  3. Direction indicator unit (1) to Claim 1 or Claim 2 , wherein the control element (3) is a turn signal lever.
  4. Direction indicator unit (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the sensor unit comprises at least one of the following components: - a Hall sensor; - a light barrier; - a gyrometer; - flexible quartz sensors; - an accelerometer; - a velocity sensor.
  5. Direction indicator unit (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the direction indicator unit (1) has an environment detection system (6) for detecting the vehicle environment (7), wherein the warning signal can be set by means of the control unit (4) based on a vehicle environment (7) detected by means of the environment detection system (6).
  6. Direction indicator unit (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the signaling device (5) comprises an ambient signaling device and/or an indoor signaling device.
  7. Motor vehicle (2) comprising at least one direction indicator unit (1) according to one of the preceding claims.
  8. Warning method for a motor vehicle (2) comprising the following steps: a. by means of a sensor unit, detecting the actuation speed or acceleration of a user input on a control element (3) of a direction indicator unit (1); b. by means of a control unit (4), setting a direction signal based on the user input and a warning signal based on the actuation speed, actuation intensity and/or actuation acceleration; and c. by means of a signaling device (5), outputting the direction signal and the warning signal.
  9. Warning procedure according to Claim 8 the warning procedure further comprises the following steps: - by means of an environment detection system (6), detection of a vehicle environment (7), and - by means of the control unit (4), setting the warning signal based on the detected vehicle environment (7).
  10. Procedure according to Claim 8 or Claim 9 , where, when detecting the vehicle environment (7), a crossing of the solid line on a lane (8), an overtaking of another road user (9,10), a conflict with another road user (9,10), a planned change of direction or lane change and/or lane guidance is detected.

Description

The invention relates to a direction indicator unit for a motor vehicle, a motor vehicle with such a direction indicator unit, and a warning method for a motor vehicle. Direction indicator units for motor vehicles are known from industrial practice. Such units have operating elements, such as turn signal levers, by means of which a change of direction of the motor vehicle can be indicated to other road users. Motor vehicles with environmental sensing systems are also known, by means of which the surroundings of the motor vehicle, such as other road users, can be detected. Such environmental sensing systems include, for example, cameras, radar sensors and/or LiDAR sensors [Light Detection and Ranging]. In road traffic, situations arise (for example, on multi-lane, congested roads) where the driver must unexpectedly change lanes (e.g., turning lane, intersection, exit lane, or similar). While a lane change assistant may warn the driver of other road users, it does not warn the other road users themselves. Therefore, if the driver overlooks or ignores the lane change assistant's warnings, a dangerous situation with an increased risk of accidents can occur. Based on this, the present invention aims to overcome, at least partially, the disadvantages known from the prior art. The features of the invention are defined in the independent claims, for which advantageous embodiments are shown in the dependent claims. The features of the claims can be combined in any technically meaningful way, whereby the explanations in the following description and features from the figures, which comprise supplementary embodiments of the invention, can also be used. The invention relates to a direction indicator unit for a motor vehicle, comprising at least the following components: - a control element for user input to indicate an intended change of direction of the motor vehicle; - a control unit for setting a direction signal based on user input via the control element; and - a signaling device for issuing the direction signal. The direction indicator unit is characterized in particular by the fact that the direction indicator unit has a sensor unit for detecting an actuation speed, actuation acceleration and/or actuation intensity of the user input, and a warning signal can be defined by the control unit based on the detected actuation speed, actuation acceleration and/or actuation intensity and can be output by means of the signaling device. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, ordinal numbers used in the preceding and following descriptions serve solely for unambiguous differentiation and do not indicate any order or ranking of the components referred to. An ordinal number greater than one does not necessarily imply the presence of another such component. A direction indicator unit for a motor vehicle is proposed here. The unit is designed to output a directional signal based on user input from the driver. This allows other road users to be notified of the vehicle's intended change of direction, for example, by means of a visual flashing. The direction indicator unit has at least one operating element, one control unit, one signaling device and one sensor unit. The control element is designed to be operated by a vehicle driver via user input. The control unit is designed to define a directional signal based on user input via the control element. For this purpose, the control unit is in communicative communication with the control element. In one embodiment, the control element is a turn signal lever, which can be pivoted up and down, for example. If the turn signal lever is pivoted upwards by the user, a right turn is indicated, for example, by flashing lights on the right side of the vehicle. If the turn signal lever is pivoted downwards in such a case, a left turn is indicated, for example, by flashing lights. a flashing of lights located on the left side of the motor vehicle. The signaling device is designed to output the directional signal. Accordingly, the signaling device is connected to the control unit via communication. Here, the direction indicator unit also features a sensor unit by means of which an actuation speed, actuation acceleration and/or an intensity of user input can be detected. The control unit is designed to determine and output a warning signal based on the actuation speed, acceleration, and/or intensity detected by the sensor unit. This warning signal can be used, for example, to warn other road users and/or the vehicle driver. Preferably, the warning signal is intended to warn other road users. For example, the control unit can determine or estimate, based on the actuation speed, acceleration, and/or intensity, whether the user input was performed hastily or panicky. The warning signal can also be defined by the control unit based on other factors. For example, a user profile of the driver, the position and speed of other road users, the road layout and/or lane guidance, or other environmental parame