WO2016008429A1

WO2016008429A1 - Apparatus and method for automatically opening vehicle trunk

Info

Publication number: WO2016008429A1
Application number: PCT/CN2015/084231
Authority: WO
Inventors: Min Xiao; Min Hu; Alicia X. HU
Original assignee: Min Xiao; Min Hu; Hu Alicia X
Priority date: 2014-07-18
Filing date: 2015-07-16
Publication date: 2016-01-21
Also published as: CN104213795A

Abstract

An apparatus and method for automatically opening a vehicle trunk are provided. The apparatus may include : a ranging device configured to measure a distance between a handheld device and the vehicle when receiving a first signal periodically transmitted from the handheld device, and to transmit a second signal instructing to open the trunk when the measured distance satisfies a predetermined condition; and a control device configured to control whether or not to open the trunk when receiving the second signal from the ranging device. According to some embodiments, the user is only required to approach the trunk to cause the trunk to automatically open. Thus, it is very convenient to automatically open the trunk with a relatively high success rate.

Description

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATICALLY OPENING VEHICLE TRUNK

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION (S)

This application claims priority to Chinese Application No. 201410343220.4， filed on July 18， 2014， entitled “apparatus and method for automatically opening vehicle trunk， ” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure relates to the vehicle automation technology， and particularly to an apparatus and method for automatically opening a vehicle trunk.

BACKGROUND

The automobile industry has a history longer than a century， and automobiles are becoming more and more intelligent and convenient as the technology advances in recent years. Manufactures， such as Mercedes Benz， Volkswagen， and Ford， have each developed auto-opening functions for vehicle trunks.

The basic principle for the above auto-opening function developed by the manufactures is as follows. Specifically， when the user with a distance sensor in his hand approaches the vehicle， a positioning sensor mounted below the chassis is activated. If the user is holding an item and wishes to put the item into the trunk， then he can walk to the trunk， and transversely swing one of his feet below the portion of the chassis that is under the trunk. When the positioning sensor senses the movement of the foot， the trunk is caused to open. At present， the microwave Doppler technique is generally used to sense the movement of the foot. However， the implementation of the microwave Doppler technique requires some conditions. First， the object should be within the microwave sensing range， preferably within a focus region of the microwave beam. Second， the object， which is within the microwave sensing range， should move against the microwave propagation direction. The quicker the movement is， the higher the sensitivity is.

In such a technique， the positioning-sensitive point for the positioning sensor is small. If the foot is not swung over the sensitive point， the trunk cannot be opened. However， since the positioning sensor is mounted below the chassis， it is not easy for the user to accurately locate the microwave sensing region below the vehicle， not to mention conducting quick movements against the microwave beam. Therefore， the accuracy for sensing the movement of the foot decreases greatly. Meanwhile， this technique is inconvenient for the user to implement. The actual situation is usually like that， for example， for those without training， the trunk often fails to automatically open.

There is a need for a novel technique for automatically opening the vehicle trunk， by which it is possible to solve at least some problems in the prior art.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the present disclosure， there is provided an apparatus in a vehicle for automatically opening a trunk of the vehicle， comprising： a ranging device configured to measure a distance between a handheld device and the vehicle when receiving a first signal periodically transmitted from the handheld device， and to transmit a second signal instructing to open the trunk when the measured distance satisfies a predetermined condition； and a control device configured to control whether or not to open the trunk when receiving the second signal from the ranging device.

In an embodiment， the ranging device may be mounted on a chassis of the vehicle or at the middle of a bumper in the rear of the vehicle， so as to be visible to a user.

In an embodiment， the ranging device may be configured to communicate with the handheld device according to a near range wireless communication protocol， for example， Bluetooth. The ranging device and the control device may be configured to communicate with each other according to a near range wireless communication protocol or via a wired connection conforming to a predetermined criterion， for example， CAN bus criterion.

In an embodiment， the ranging device may comprise： a first communication module configured to receive the first signal； a first ranging module configured to measure a first distance between the handheld device and the vehicle according to the near range wireless communication protocol， and to generate a first instruction to activate a second ranging module when the first distance satisfies a first predetermined condition； the second ranging module configured to measure a second distance between the handheld device and the vehicle with a predetermined ranging method when activated by the first instruction， and to generate a second instruction to open the trunk when the second distance satisfies a second predetermined condition； and a second communication module configured to transmit the second signal in response to the second instruction.

In an embodiment， the first predetermined condition may comprise that the first distance is less than a first threshold， for example， 1.5m， and the second predetermined condition may comprise that the second distance is less than a second threshold， for example， 0.2m.

In an embodiment， the first ranging module may comprise a Bluetooth ranging module， the second ranging module may comprise an ultrasonic sensor， and the predetermined ranging method may comprise an ultrasonic ranging method.

In an embodiment， the control device may be configured to control detecting whether the vehicle has a speed of zero when the second signal is received， to generate a control command to open the trunk when the speed is zero， and to output an alarm indicating that the trunk is not allowed to be opened when the speed is not zero.

In an embodiment， the control device may be configured to detect whether the speed of the vehicle is zero via an On-Board Diagnosis (OBD) module， which is configured to open the trunk via a Body Control Module (BCM) in response to the control command.

In an embodiment， the control device may be configured to detect whether the trunk is opened via the OBD module， and to regenerate a further control command to open the trunk if the trunk is not opened.

In an embodiment， the control device may be configured to transmit to the ranging device a turning-off command to turn off the ranging function after the trunk is opened， and the ranging device may be configured to turn off the first and second ranging modules in response to the turning-off command.

According to a further aspect of the present disclosure， there is provided a method for automatically opening a vehicle trunk， comprising： periodically transmitting a first signal from a handheld device carried by a user； measuring， by a ranging device mounted on the vehicle， a distance between the handheld device and the vehicle when the first signal is received from the handheld device， and transmitting a second signal instructing to open the trunk when the measured distance satisfies a predetermined condition； and controlling， by a control device mounted on the vehicle， whether or not to open the trunk when the second signal is received from the ranging device.

According to the embodiments of the present disclosure， the user does not need to locate a sensing region or to generate a quick movement with one of his feet or with other parts of his body. The user is only required to approach the trunk to cause the trunk to automatically open. Thus， it is very convenient to automatically open the trunk with a relatively high success rate.

The Bluetooth ranging technique uses omni-directional wireless signal propagation， so as to locate objects in a range of 0 ～ 200m in all directions. The ultrasonic sensor can accurately locate objects in a range of 0～3m， at an accuracy up to the millimeter level. Further， the propagation of ultrasonic waves is very directional， and thus it is possible to accurately determine whether the user is walking directly towards the trunk. Combination of these two techniques further improves the success rate for automatically opening the trunk.

When the ranging device is mounted at the middle part of the rear of the vehicle， it can be visible to the user， which enables the user to more easily determine his distance and direction with respect to the ranging device. Such a solution is convenient for the user and does not require any special training.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects， features， and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following descriptions with reference to the drawings， in which：

Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an apparatus for automatically opening a vehicle trunk in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure；

Figure 2 schematically shows respective mounting positions of a control device and a ranging device on a vehicle；

Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the ranging device as illustrated in Figure 1；

Figure 4 is a flow chart showing a method for automatically opening a vehicle trunk in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure； and

Figure 5 is a more detailed flow chart showing a method for automatically opening a vehicle trunk in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings， like reference numerals denote like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail hereinafter. It should be appreciated that these embodiments are only illustrative， but not intended to limit the disclosure. In the following description， various specific details are described to provide thorough understanding of the present disclosure. However， it is apparent for those skilled in the art that such details are not indispensible for the implementation of the disclosure. In other examples， commonly known circuits， materials or methods are not described in detail to avoid ambiguousness.

In the description， reference to “an embodiment， ” “the embodiment， ” “an example， ” or “the example” means that certain features， structures or characteristics described in conjugation with this embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment of the disclosure. Therefore， phrases “in an embodiment， ” “in the embodiment， ” “in an example， ” and “in the example” through the specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Additionally， the certain features， structures or characteristics may be incorporated into one or more embodiments or examples in any appropriate combination and/or sub-combination. Moreover， those skilled in the art should understand that the term “and/or” as used herein comprises any and all combinations of one or more listed items.

The embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.

Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an apparatus for automatically opening a vehicle trunk in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The apparatus may comprise a ranging device 12 and a control device 14. Further， there is a handheld device 10 for use by a user. In an embodiment， these devices may communicate with each other according to a near range wireless communication protocol. The near range wireless communication protocol may comprise Bluetooth， such as Bluetooth 4.0. The wireless connection between the ranging device 12 and the control device 14 may be kept after being established when the ranging device 12 and the control device 14 are originally mounted， or may be periodically established based on a polling mechanism. The handheld device 10 and the ranging device 12 may have respective wireless communication modules， which operate in a transmission mode and a reception mode， respectively， for the wireless connection and communication between them. In another embodiment， the handheld device 10 and the ranging device 12 may communicate with each other according to the near range wireless communication protocol， but the ranging device 12 and the control device 14 may communicate with each other via a wired connection conforming to a predetermined criterion， for example， establishing and maintaining connection via CAN bus.

The handheld device 10 is carried by the user， and periodically transmits a first signal. For example， the handheld device 10 may comprise a Bluetooth handle， which transmits a signal at an interval of， for example， 30 seconds. The Bluetooth handle may comprise a power supply such as a battery. In this case， the first signal is a wireless signal conforming to the Bluetooth protocol.

Figure 2 schematically shows respective mounting positions of the control device 14 and the ranging device 12 on the vehicle. Such positions are only illustrative， and the devices may be mounted at any other positions based on design requirements.

The ranging device 12 is mounted on the body of the vehicle， such as on the chassis of the vehicle or at the middle of the bumper in the rear of the vehicle， such that it is visible to the user， which enables the user to more easily determine his distance and direction with respect to the ranging device. When the user approaches the vehicle， the ranging device 12 receives the first signal transmitted by the handheld device 10， establishes a connection with the handheld device 10， and starts to measure a distance between the user or the handheld device and the vehicle. When the measured distance satisfies a predetermined condition， the ranging device 12 transmits a second signal that instructs to open the trunk. The ranging device 12 may uses a battery (or a vehicle-carried battery) as its power supply. The second signal may be transmitted over a wireless connection conforming to a near range wireless communication protocol (e.g. Bluetooth) or via a wired connection conforming to a predetermined criterion (e.g. CAN bus criterion) ， as described above. In the following， the ranging device 12 will be described in detail with reference to Figure 2.

The control device is mounted on the body of the vehicle， for example， it may be mounted below the steering wheel， neighboring to an On-Board Diagnosis (OBD) module. When the control device 14 receives the second signal from the ranging device 12， it controls whether or not to open the trunk. Specifically， when the control device 14 receives the second signal， it detects whether the vehicle has a speed of zero via the OBD. If the speed is zero， the control device 14 generates a control command to open the trunk； or otherwise if the speed is not zero， the control device 14 outputs an alarm indicating that the trunk is not allowed to be opened. The OBD opens the trunk via a Body Control Module (BCM) in response to the control command. Additionally， the control device 14 further detects whether the trunk is open via the OBD. If the trunk is not open， the control device 14 regenerates a further control command to open the trunk. In another embodiment， if the trunk is not open， then after a predetermined time period (e.g. 1 minute) ， the handheld device 10 and the ranging device 12 try to establish a connection again， and repeat the operations of ranging and signal transmitting. Then， the control device 14 determines whether the trunk is open for another time.

The OBD and BCM are well known on-board modules having functionalities of detecting speed and opening the trunk， and thus detailed descriptions thereof are omitted here for simplicity.

After the trunk is opened， the control device 14 may transmit to the ranging device 12 a turning-off command to turn off the ranging function， and the ranging device 12 may turn off its ranging function in response to the turning-off command.

Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the ranging device 12 as illustrated in Figure 1. The ranging device 12 may comprise a first ranging module 120， a second ranging module 122， a first communication module 124， and a second communication module 126. The first ranging module 120 may measure a first distance between the user or the handheld device and the vehicle according to the near range wireless communication protocol， and generate a first instruction to activate the second ranging module when the first distance satisfies a first predetermined condition. The second ranging module 122 may measure a second distance between the user or the handheld device and the vehicle with a predetermined ranging method when activated by the first instruction， and generate a second instruction to open the trunk when the second distance satisfies a second predetermined condition. The first communication module 124 may receive the first signal. The second communication module 126 may transmit the second signal in response to the second instruction.

In an embodiment， the first and second communication modules are both wireless communication modules， and can be integrated into a single communication module. In another embodiment， the first communication module 124 may comprise a wireless communication module that wirelessly receives the first signal， while the second communication module 126 may comprise a wired communication module that transmits the second signal via， for example， the CAN bus.

In an embodiment， the first predetermined condition comprises that the first distance is less than a first threshold， and the second predetermined condition comprises that the second distance is less than a second threshold. The first and the second threshold may be， for example， 1.5m and 0.2m， respectively.

In an embodiment， the first ranging module 120 comprises a Bluetooth ranging module. The existing Bluetooth ranging technique uses omni-directional wireless signal propagation， so as to locate objects in a range of 0～200m in all directions. The Bluetooth ranging is one specific kind of wireless ranging， where， during electromagnetic waves are being transmitted， the signal strength thereof decreases as the propagation distance becomes longer. If the transmission power remains substantially unchanged and the same receiver is used， then the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) will decrease as the distance from the transmitter increases. Therefore， the distance between the transmitter and the receiver can be determined based on the RSSI. In the Bluetooth ranging technique， if the distance between the transmitter and the receiver is not greater than 1.5m， then the RSSI value substantially decreases in proportion； and if the distance is greater than 1.5m， then the RSSI fluctuates rather than decreases due to the effect of reflected waves. In the apparatus for automatically opening the vehicle trunk according to the embodiment， if the RSSI for the wireless signal measured by the first ranging module 120 decreases in proportion with the distance， then it may be determined that the user is within a range of about 1.5m from the rear of the vehicle.

In an embodiment， the second ranging module 122 comprises an ultrasonic sensor and adopts an ultrasonic ranging method. The ultrasonic sensor can accurately locate objects within a range of 0m-3m， at an accuracy up to the millimeter level. The propagation of the ultrasonic wave is very directional. As a result， the ultrasonic sensor， mounted at the rear of the vehicle， can accurately determine whether the user is walking directly toward the trunk. Specifically， the ultrasonic sensor comprises a transmitter that transmits an ultrasonic wave in a certain direction， and a timer that is turned on as soon as the transmission starts. The ultrasonic wave propagates in the air， and is reflected back when it impinges on an obstacle (e.g.， a person approaching the rear of the vehicle) . When the reflected wave is received at a receiver of the ultrasonic sensor， the timer stops. The propagation speed of the ultrasonic waves in the air is 340m/s， and a distance s between the transmitting point and the obstacle may be calculated as s＝340t/2， where t represents the time counted by the timer. Combination of these two techniques improves the accuracy of determining whether the user wishes to open the trunk， and thus improves the success rate for automatically opening the trunk.

As described above， the first communication module 124 and the second communication module 126 may respectively establish connection with the handheld device 10 and the control device 14， and perform signal communications therebetween. In an embodiment， the first communication 124 may be integrated with the first ranging module 120.

After the trunk is opened， the control device 14 may transmit to the ranging device 12 a turning-off command to turn off the ranging function thereof. The ranging device 12 turns off the first ranging module 120 and the second ranging module 122 in response to the command. In this way， it is possible to save power， and thus extend the usage time of the power supply.

Although in the above embodiments the second ranging module 122 is illustrated as employing the ultrasonic ranging method， the disclosure is not limited thereto. Instead， many other ranging techniques， some of which are illustrated in the following， may be adopted. For example， the magnetic field positioning technique has been widely used in various keyless entry techniques， and has an accuracy up to the centimeter level. The optical triangulation positioning technique generally uses a Iow power laser as a light source. However， if it is mounted at the rear of the vehicle， the optical sensor may be blocked by dirt and waste， such that the performance degrades. The laser-radar ranging technique faces the same challenges as the optical triangulation positioning technique， with even higher cost. The microwave ranging radar technique uses a linear microwave frequency modulator， and is based on the principle of frequency modulated continuous waves. The microwave ranging radar technique is widely used in high precision and high speed ranging applications， such as flight-ground altimeter， vehicle crashing avoiding， and industrial material level， due to its excellent performance in near range detection. Because it is a light-speed reflective measuring technique with quick reaction and its microwave energy can well pass through non-dielectric material， the measuring precision is generally not affected by fog， foam， dust， steam or shape of container. This ranging technique may be used for automatically opening the trunk， but currently costs a lot.

Figure 4 is a flow chart showing a method for automatically opening a vehicle trunk in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 4， at step 400， a handheld device 10 carried by a user periodically transmits a first signal. At step 402， a ranging device 12 mounted on the vehicle measures a distance between the handheld device 10 or the user and the vehicle when the first signal is received from the handheld device 10， and transmits a second signal instructing to open the trunk when the measured distance satisfies a predetermined condition. At step 404， a control device 14 mounted on the vehicle controls whether or not to open the trunk when the second signal is received from the ranging device 12.

Figure 5 is a more detailed flow chart showing a method for automatically opening a vehicle trunk in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 5， at step 500， the control device 14 establishes a connection with the ranging device 12. If the connection is not successfully established， then at step 526， the control device 14 outputs an alarm， and tries to re-establish the connection until it is established. If the connection is established， then at step 502， the ranging device 12 receives the signal transmitted from the handheld device 10 via the first communication module 124， to establish a connection with the handheld device 10. If the connection is not successfully established， then the step 502 is repeated， until the connection is established. If the connection is successfully established (for example， when the user approaches the vehicle with the handheld device 10 and enters a region within a certain distance from the vehicle) ， then at step 504， the ranging device 12 measures its distance from the handheld device 10 using the first ranging module 120. At step 506， the first ranging module 120 determines whether the measured distance is less than a first threshold， such as 1.5m. If the distance is not less than 1.5m， then the method returns to step 504， and continues measuring. If the distance is less than 1.5m， then the first ranging module 120 generates a first instruction to activate the second ranging module 122. At step 508， the second ranging module 122 is activated by the first instruction， and measures its distance from the handheld device 10. At step 510， the second ranging module 122 determines whether the measured distance is less than a second threshold， such as 0.2m. If the distance is not less than 0.2m， then the method returns to step 508， and continues measuring. If the distance is less than 0.2m， then at step 512， the second ranging module 122 generates a second instruction to open the trunk and transmits the second instruction to the control device 14 via the second communication module 126. At step 514， the control device 14 control detects whether the speed of the vehicle is zero via the OBD module. If the speed is not zero， then at step 516， the control device 14 outputs an alarm indicating that the trunk is not allowed to be opened. If the speed is zero， then at step 518， the control device 14 generates a control command to open the trunk. At step 520， the control device 14 detects whether the trunk is opened via the OBD module. If the trunk is successfully opened， then at step 522， the control device 14 transmits to the ranging device a turning-off command to turn off the ranging modules. If the trunk is not successfully opened， then at step 524， the control device 14 waits for a predetermined time period， such as 1 minute， and then returns to step 502 to repeat the above process.

The foregoing detailed description has set forth various embodiments of the technology with the use of block diagrams， flowcharts， and/or examples. In a case where such a block diagram， flowchart， and/or example includes one or more functions and/or operations， it will be understood by those skilled in the art that each function and/or operation in the diagram， flowchart or example may be implemented， individually and/or collectively， by a wide range of hardware， software， firmware， or virtually any combination thereof. In an embodiment， several portions of the subject matter described in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented via Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) ， Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) ， Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) ， or other integrated formats. However， those skilled in the art will recognize that some aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein， in whole or in part， may be equivalently implemented in integrated circuits， as one or more computer programs running on one or more computers (e.g.， as one or more programs running on one or more computer systems) ， as one or more programs running on one or more processors (e.g.， as one or more programs running on one or more microprocessors) ， as firmware， or as virtually any combination thereof， and that designing the circuitry and/or writing codes for the software and/or firmware would be well within the skill of those skilled in the art in light of this disclosure.

Though the present disclosure has been described with reference to several embodiments， it is apparent to those skilled in the art that the terms are used for illustration and explanation purpose， but not for limitation. The present disclosure may be practiced in various forms without departing from the spirit or essence of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the embodiments are not limited to any of the foregoing details， and shall be interpreted broadly within the spirit and scope as defined by the following claims. Therefore， modifications and alternatives falling within the scope of the claims and equivalents thereof are to be encompassed by the scope of the present disclosure which is defined by the claims as attached.

Claims

An apparatus in a vehicle for automatically opening a trunk of the vehicle， comprising：

a ranging device configured to measure a distance between a handheld device and the vehicle when receiving a first signal periodically transmitted from the handheld device， and to transmit a second signal instructing to open the trunk when the measured distance satisfies a predetermined condition； and

a control device configured to control whether or not to open the trunk when receiving the second signal from the ranging device.
The apparatus according to claim 1， wherein

the ranging device is configured to communicate with the handheld device according to a near range wireless communication protocol； and

the ranging device and the control device are configured to communicate with each other according to a near range wireless communication protocol or via a wired connection conforming to a predetermined criterion.
The apparatus according to claim 2， wherein the near range wireless communication protocol comprises Bluetooth， and the predetermined criterion comprises CAN bus criterion.
The apparatus according to claim 2， wherein the ranging device comprises：

a first communication module configured to receive the first signal；

a first ranging module configured to measure a first distance between the handheld device and the vehicle according to the near range wireless communication protocol， and to generate a first instruction to activate a second ranging module when the first distance satisfies a first predetermined condition；

the second ranging module configured to measure a second distance between the handheld device and the vehicle with a predetermined ranging method when activated by the first instruction， and to generate a second instruction to open the trunk when the second distance satisfies a second predetermined condition； and

a second communication module configured to transmit the second signal in response to the second instruction.
The apparatus according to claim 4， wherein

the first predetermined condition comprises that the first distance is less than a first threshold， and

the second predetermined condition comprises that the second distance is less than a second threshold.
The apparatus according to claim 4， wherein

the first ranging module comprises a Bluetooth ranging module，

the second ranging module comprises an ultrasonic sensor， and

the predetermined ranging method comprises an ultrasonic ranging method.
The apparatus according to claim 1， wherein the control device is configured to control detecting whether the vehicle has a speed of zero when the second signal is received， to generate a control command to open the trunk when the speed is zero， and to output an alarm indicating that the trunk is not allowed to be opened when the speed is not zero.
The apparatus according to claim 7， wherein the control device is configured to detect whether the speed of the vehicle is zero via an On-Board Diagnosis (OBD) module， which is configured to open the trunk via a Body Control Module (BCM) in response to the control command.
The apparatus according to claim 8， wherein the control device is configured to detect whether the trunk is opened via the OBD module， and to regenerate a further control command to open the trunk if the trunk is not opened.
The apparatus according to claim 4， wherein

the control device is configured to transmit to the ranging device a turning-off command to turn off the ranging function after the trunk is opened， and

the ranging device is configured to turn off the first and second ranging modules in response to the turning-off command.
The apparatus according to claim 1， wherein the ranging device is mounted on a chassis of the vehicle or at the middle of a bumper in the rear of the vehicle， so as to be visible to a user.
A method for automatically opening a vehicle trunk， comprising：

periodically transmitting a first signal from a handheld device carried by a user；

measuring， by a ranging device mounted on the vehicle， a distance between the handheld device and the vehicle when the first signal is received from the handheld device， and transmitting a second signal instructing to open the trunk when the measured distance satisfies a predetermined condition； and

controlling， by a control device mounted on the vehicle， whether or not to open the trunk when the second signal is received from the ranging device.