US7411486B2
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Lane-departure warning system with differentiation between an edge-of-lane marking and a structural boundary of the edge of the lane
Assignee: Mercedes Benz Group AG
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Filing: 2005-11-28
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Granted: 2008-08-12
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Expires: 2025-11-28
Abstract
Abstract A driver assistance device for warning a driver of a motor vehicle of a risk of departure from the lane or from the lane is described, having at least one image-transmitting sensor, an evaluation device, connected to the image-transmitting sensor, for detecting edge-of-lane and/or lane markings and/or edges of lanes in the area sensed by the image-transmitting sensor, and a warning device which is connected to the evaluation device, in which driver assistance device in addition at least one distance-transmitting sensor is connected to the evaluation device, with which sensor the distance from objects which are elevated with respect to the surface of the lane can be determined in the region of the edge of the lane, in particular of a structural boundary of the edge of the lane.
Inventors
- 👤 Axel Gern
- 👤 Alfred Lotter
- 👤 Rainer Moebus
- 👤 Volker Oltmann
- 👤 Bernd Woltermann
- 👤 Zoltan Zomotor
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-25 00:08
CPC Classifications
B; B60; B60Q; B60Q9/00; B60Q9/008
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 11
Claim 1
Independent Claim
183 words
A driver assistance device for warning a driver of a motor vehicle of a risk of departure from the road or from the lane in which he is driving, said device comprising: at least one image-transmitting sensor, a distance-transmitting sensor, an evaluation device, connected to the image-transmitting sensor and the distance—transmitting sensor, for detecting a structure condition of a road edge and/or a lane edge, comprising: means for creating a distance profile from measured values of the distance-transmitting sensor to detect discontinuity in the distance profile, and means for detecting a structural boundary at the region of the edge of lane on the basis of a detected discontinuity in the distance profile to differentiate between the structural boundary and edge-of-lane markings, indicative of a structure condition of the road edge and/or lane edge; a warning device which is connected to the evaluation device, wherein the warning device varies time points of warning output, indicating a risk of departure from the road or from the lane which the vehicle is in, depending on the structure condition of the road edge and/or the lane edge.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
183 words
A driver assistance device for warning a driver of a motor vehicle of a risk of departure from the road or from the lane in which he is driving, said device comprising: at least one image-transmitting sensor, a distance-transmitting sensor, an evaluation device, connected to the image-transmitting sensor and the distance—transmitting sensor, for detecting a structure condition of a road edge and/or a lane edge, comprising: means for creating a distance profile from measured values of the distance-transmitting sensor to detect discontinuity in the distance profile, and means for detecting a structural boundary at the region of the edge of lane on the basis of a detected discontinuity in the distance profile to differentiate between the structural boundary and edge-of-lane markings, indicative of a structure condition of the road edge and/or lane edge; a warning device which is connected to the evaluation device, wherein the warning device varies time points of warning output, indicating a risk of departure from the road or from the lane which the vehicle is in, depending on the structure condition of the road edge and/or the lane edge.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
19 words
The driver assistance device according to claim 1 , further comprising a height-estimating sensor connected to the evaluation device.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
41 words
The driver assistance device according to claim 2 , further comprising: means for creating a height profile from measured values of the height-estimating sensor, and means for detecting a structural boundary on the basis of a discontinuity in the height profile.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
31 words
The driver assistance device according to claim 2 , wherein the distance-transmitting sensor and/or the height-estimating sensor are arranged predominantly in a direction transverse to a longitudinal axis of the vehicle.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
24 words
The driver assistance device according to claim 2 , wherein the distance-transmitting sensor and/or the height-estimating sensor are part of another driver assistance device.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
50 words
The driver assistance device according to claim 1 , further comprising a sensor for detecting different reflection behaviour of objects, which, on the basis of the different reflection behaviour of the objects, permits differentiation between the objects, the sensor for detecting different reflection behaviour being connected to the evaluation device.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
184 words
A driver assistance device for warning a driver of a motor vehicle of a risk or departure from the road or from the lane in which he is driving, said device comprising: at least one image-transmitting sensor, a height-estimating sensor, an evaluation device, connected to the image-transmitting sensor and the height-estimating sensor, for detecting a structure condition of a road edge and/or a lane edge, comprising: means for creating a height profile from measured values of the height-estimating sensor to detect a discontinuity in the height profile, and means for detecting a structural boundary at the region of the edge of lane on the basis of a detected discontinuity in the height profile to differentiate between the structural boundary and edge-of-lane markings, indicative of a structure condition of the road edge and/or lane edge; a warning device which is connected to the evaluation device, wherein the warning device varies time points of warning output, indicating a risk of departure from the road or from the lane which the vehicle is in, depending on the structure condition of the road edge and/or the lane edge.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
184 words
A driver assistance device for warning a driver of a motor vehicle of a risk or departure from the road or from the lane in which he is driving, said device comprising: at least one image-transmitting sensor, a height-estimating sensor, an evaluation device, connected to the image-transmitting sensor and the height-estimating sensor, for detecting a structure condition of a road edge and/or a lane edge, comprising: means for creating a height profile from measured values of the height-estimating sensor to detect a discontinuity in the height profile, and means for detecting a structural boundary at the region of the edge of lane on the basis of a detected discontinuity in the height profile to differentiate between the structural boundary and edge-of-lane markings, indicative of a structure condition of the road edge and/or lane edge; a warning device which is connected to the evaluation device, wherein the warning device varies time points of warning output, indicating a risk of departure from the road or from the lane which the vehicle is in, depending on the structure condition of the road edge and/or the lane edge.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
225 words
A method for operating a driver assistance device for warning a driver of a motor vehicle of a risk of departure from the road or from the lane in which he is driving, the driver assistance device detecting a structure condition of a road edge and/or a lane edge, the method comprising: creating a distance and/or height profile from measured values of a distant-transmitting and/or height-estimating sensor for detecting the structure condition of the road edge and/or the lane edge, and detecting a structural boundary at the region of the edge of road/lane on the basis of a discontinuity in such a profile to differentiate between the structural boundary and edge-of-lane markings, indicative of the structure condition of the road edae and/or lane edge, varying time points of warning output by a warning device depending on the detected structure condition of the road edge and/or the lane edge, wherein when there is a road/lane marking, warning the driver of the motor vehicle of a risk of departure from the road or from the lane only when the vehicle enters into contact with or passes beyond the marking, and when there is a structural boundary, warning in advance the driver of the motor vehicle of a risk of departure from the road or from the lane before the vehicle enters into contact with the structural boundary.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
225 words
A method for operating a driver assistance device for warning a driver of a motor vehicle of a risk of departure from the road or from the lane in which he is driving, the driver assistance device detecting a structure condition of a road edge and/or a lane edge, the method comprising: creating a distance and/or height profile from measured values of a distant-transmitting and/or height-estimating sensor for detecting the structure condition of the road edge and/or the lane edge, and detecting a structural boundary at the region of the edge of road/lane on the basis of a discontinuity in such a profile to differentiate between the structural boundary and edge-of-lane markings, indicative of the structure condition of the road edae and/or lane edge, varying time points of warning output by a warning device depending on the detected structure condition of the road edge and/or the lane edge, wherein when there is a road/lane marking, warning the driver of the motor vehicle of a risk of departure from the road or from the lane only when the vehicle enters into contact with or passes beyond the marking, and when there is a structural boundary, warning in advance the driver of the motor vehicle of a risk of departure from the road or from the lane before the vehicle enters into contact with the structural boundary.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2011-08-12 | 2012-02-11 | 2012-08-12 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2015-08-12 | 2016-02-11 | 2016-08-12 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2019-08-12 | 2020-02-11 | 2020-08-12 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |