US-12626551-B2 - Ultra wide band (UWB) based automatic moveable closure adjustment

US12626551B2US 12626551 B2US12626551 B2US 12626551B2US-12626551-B2

Abstract

Systems and methods are described herein for a system to automatically execute actions associated with one or more moveable closures of a vehicle. The system may detect a user device is within proximity of the vehicle using ultra-wideband signals. The system may then determine a location of the user device, and based on the location of the user device, whether the user device is within a trigger zone. A trigger zone may represent a real-world area positioned about the vehicle. Based on determining that the user device is within a trigger zone, the system may execute an action associated with the one or more moveable closures.

Inventors

Brahmesh Saligrama Dharanendra Jain
Bernard Bekker
Austin Shaski
Gary Chen

Assignees

TESLA, INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20240708

Claims (16)

1 . A system configured for inclusion in a vehicle, the system comprising: one or more sensors; one or more processors; and a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: detect a user device, wherein the user device is authenticated as being associated with the vehicle; determine a location of the user device using ultra-wideband signals; determine whether the user device is located within a first trigger zone of a plurality of trigger zones, wherein each trigger zone represents a real-world area positioned about the vehicle; and based on determining that the user device is located within the first trigger zone, executing a first action associated with one or more moveable closures of the vehicle, wherein the first trigger zone corresponds to an overlap between a first ellipse positioned proximate to the vehicle and a second ellipse positioned proximate to the vehicle, the first ellipse being associated with a first distance from a first of the one or more sensors and the second ellipse being associated with a second distance from a second of the one or more sensors.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein a first moveable closure of the one or more moveable closures comprises a door.
3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the first action comprises closing a first moveable closure of the one or more moveable closures.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the first trigger zone is associated with a zone in which a user associated with the user device is predicted to be leaning into the vehicle, wherein the first action comprises preventing a first moveable closure of the one or more moveable closures from closing, and wherein to determine whether the user device is located within the first trigger zone, the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to: predict, using a neural network, whether the user is leaning into the vehicle, wherein the neural network is trained on training data comprising movement data and sensor data corresponding to a sensor located under a seat of the vehicle.
5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the first action comprises rearming automated door opening functionality of the vehicle.
6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the first action comprises rearming automated door closing functionality of the vehicle.
7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the first action comprises opening a first moveable closure of the one or more moveable closures to a maximum opening angle.
8 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the first action comprises opening a first moveable closure of the one or more moveable closures to a percentage of the maximum opening angle, wherein the percentage is greater than 0% and less than 100%.
9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to: determine whether the user device is outside of a trigger zone; and based on determining that the user device is located outside of a trigger zone, executing a second action associated with one or more moveable closures of the vehicle.
10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the second action comprises rearming at least one of automated door opening functionality of the vehicle or automated door closing functionality of the vehicle.
11 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to: determine whether the user device is outside of a second trigger zone; and based on determining that the user device is located within the first trigger zone and outside of the second trigger zone, executing a second action associated with one or more moveable closures of the vehicle.
12 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the second action comprises rearming at least one of automated door closing functionality of the vehicle or automated door closing functionality of the vehicle.
13 . A method comprising: detecting a user device, wherein the user device is authenticated as being associated with a vehicle, the vehicle comprising one or more sensors; determining a location of the user device using ultra-wideband signals; determining whether the user device is located within a first trigger zone of a plurality of trigger zones, wherein each trigger zone represents a real-world area positioned about the vehicle; and based on determining that the user device is located within the first trigger zone, executing a first action associated with one or more moveable closures of the vehicle, wherein the first trigger zone corresponds to an overlap between a first ellipse positioned proximate to the vehicle and a second ellipse positioned proximate to the vehicle, the first ellipse being associated with a first distance from a first of the one or more sensors and the second ellipse being associated with a second distance from a second of the one or more sensors.
14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the first action comprises opening a first moveable closure of the one or more moveable closures to a maximum opening angle.
15 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the first trigger zone is associated with a zone in which a user associated with the user device is predicted to be leaning into the vehicle, wherein the first action comprises preventing a first moveable closure of the one or more moveable closures from closing, and wherein determining whether the user device is located within the first trigger zone comprises: predicting, using a neural network, whether the user is leaning into the vehicle, wherein the neural network is trained on training data comprising movement data and sensor data corresponding to a sensor located under a seat of the vehicle.
16 . One or more non-transitory computer-readable media having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by a computing system including one or more processors, cause the computing system to: detect a user device, wherein the user device is authenticated as being associated with a vehicle; determine a location of the user device using ultra-wideband signals; determine whether the user device is located within a first trigger zone of a plurality of trigger zones, wherein each trigger zone represents a real-world area positioned about the vehicle; and based on determining that the user device is located within the first trigger zone, executing a first action associated with one or more moveable closures of the vehicle, wherein the first trigger zone corresponds to an overlap between a first ellipse positioned proximate to the vehicle and a second ellipse positioned proximate to the vehicle, the first ellipse being associated with a first distance from a first of the one or more sensors and the second ellipse being associated with a second distance from a second of the one or more sensors.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS Any and all applications for which a foreign or domestic priority claim is identified in the Application Data Sheet as filed with the present application are incorporated by reference under 37 CFR 1.57 and made a part of this specification. The present application is being filed with U.S. application Ser. No. 18/766,446, entitled ULTRA WIDE BAND (UWB) BASED AUTOMATIC TRUNK ADJUSTMENT, which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. BACKGROUND Vehicles typically include moveable closures, such as doors or hoods, to enable access to different portions of the vehicle. With respect to doors, the doors typically have handles which may be used by persons entering the vehicle. Similarly, a hood may have a control within the vehicle, or a control proximate to the hood, with which a person may interact. These moveable closures have access control techniques, which typically include use of a key or key fob to unlock the vehicle. At present, such techniques may increase the time required to access the different portions of the vehicle. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Throughout the drawings, reference numbers are re-used to indicate correspondence between referenced elements. The drawings are provided to illustrate embodiments of the subject matter described herein and not to limit the scope thereof. FIG. 1 depicts an example environment of a vehicle capable of detecting and locating a user device. FIG. 2 illustrates an example of geographic trigger zones for automated moveable closure opening. FIG. 3 illustrates an example of geographic trigger zones to rearm automated moveable closure opening after a manual closing. FIG. 4 illustrates an example of geographic trigger zones for automated moveable closure closing. FIG. 5 illustrates an example of geographic trigger zones to rearm automated moveable closure closing after an automated moveable closure opening. FIG. 6 illustrates an example of geographic trigger zones to rearm automated moveable closure action after a false open. FIG. 7 illustrates an example of geographic trigger zones for automated opening of a moveable closure located in the rear or front of a vehicle. FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating an example embodiment of a process for triggering an automated moveable closure action associated with a door. FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating an example embodiment of a process for triggering an automated moveable closure action associated with a trunk compartment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Overview The systems and methods described herein provide for a system for automated moveable closure actions for a vehicle, such as automated opening and closing. Example moveable closures may include the doors of a vehicle, the trunk of a vehicle, a front trunk or hood of the vehicle, and so on. Modern mobile devices are configured with ever improving Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and other signaling technologies, such as ultra-wideband (UWB). UWB is similar to Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, but may be more precise, reliable and effective. Specifically, UWB may enable high-precision positioning of an UWB-enabled device. For example, UWB may allow for use of time of flight to enable substantially accurate determinations regarding a distance of a UWB mobile device to a sensor. This technology may be used to determine whether a person carrying a UWB-enabled device is within range of a vehicle. The technology may also be used to determine a location of the person based on use of a multitude of sensors. A system, such as a processing system of a vehicle, may use this information to determine whether to open or close a moveable closure; providing a hands-free experience for the user of the vehicle. For example, the system may use a UWB sensor to detect that an individual with a connected device is within range of the trunk of a vehicle and may determine to open the based on this information. This provides a convenience to someone who may not have a free hand to open the trunk moveable closure, such as because they are carrying an item to be deposited in the trunk. In some cases, individuals may not want to wait for a long period of time for a door to open or may want an indication that the door will open when they walk up to it. Current systems may fail to be responsive to an individual's actions, such as not rapidly opening or closing a moveable closure as a person (e.g., a person authorized to access the vehicle) walks towards, or away from, the vehicle. Additionally, current systems may not quickly react to rearm automated door features based on an individual's action, such as leaving the vicinity of the vehicle. Further, current systems may not properly detect whether an individual is in- or outside of the vehicle and may accidentally close the door such that it impacts the individual. The system described herein improves on existing technology by using, in some embodiments, UWB based time-of-flight measurements from a connected user device to calculate a distance