DE102023111404A1 - Method for operating an electronic security system of a vehicle, as well as electronic security system and vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for operating an electronic security system (2) of a vehicle (1), wherein
- a position (5) relating to a potential dangerous situation (4) is provided to an electronic evaluation unit (6) of the electronic security system (2),
- a danger to the vehicle (1) posed by the potential dangerous situation (4) is checked on the basis of a comparison of the position (5) with location information of a digital map (7) concerning an area surrounding the vehicle (1) (3),
- if the danger posed by the potential dangerous situation (4) cannot be successfully verified on the basis of the comparison, then, depending on information of the potential dangerous situation (4), a virtual safety area (8) is defined at least in part around the vehicle (1), and the danger posed by the potential dangerous situation (4) to the vehicle (1) is verified to determine whether the position (5) is within the virtual safety area (8).
Furthermore, the invention relates to an electronic security system (2) and a vehicle (1).

Description

The invention relates to a method for operating an electronic safety system of a vehicle, wherein a position relating to a potential dangerous situation is provided to an electronic evaluation unit of the electronic safety system. A danger to the vehicle posed by the potential dangerous situation is checked based on a comparison of the position of the potential dangerous situation with location information of a digital map relating to an area surrounding the vehicle.

The invention further relates to an electronic security system with an electronic evaluation unit. The invention further relates to a motor vehicle or a vehicle with an electronic security system.

Car2x communication-based safety functions, such as a local hazard warning, use map matching algorithms to match events received from other road users to the road map. Map data is essential for this, such as from the navigation map data. The road must be mapped. If no map data is available, map matching cannot be carried out. This means that no relevance assessment can be made for the received event, such as whether the vehicle is on the same road, lane, direction of travel or whether the lanes are structurally separated. This also means that reliable intervention by the safety functions, such as providing information, warnings or actively intervening in the driving process, does not work.

In Car2x communication (Vehicle2Vehicle communication), information can be transmitted to a vehicle via communication technology from other road users and/or external information points.

Map matching is a process that compares the position of an object measured by location with the location information on a digital map.

From the DE 10 2018 130 457 A1 A method for determining a "map match confidence" is known. This method includes detecting a trajectory, detecting network data including a plurality of links of a network, detecting one or more data pairs, wherein each of the one or more data pairs contains a link from the plurality of links and a time window that detects at least part of the trajectory. For each of the one or more data pairs, a map matching confidence is determined for the link of the respective data pair.

For example, the US 2020 / 0 192 356 A1 a method for determining the accuracy of local hazard warnings. This involves a map-based check, i.e. map matching.

Furthermore, the EP 3 496 064 A2 a method for providing current road events taking into account geographical data, such as map data and a probability calculation regarding a hazard emanating from the event.

One disadvantage is that map matching does not work on unmapped roads or on roads for which no map data is available at a certain point in time. As a result, a map matching-based relevance check and thus a security function cannot be carried out or cannot be carried out reliably.

One object of the present invention is to provide a fallback level for a vehicle safety system, which can be used in the event of faulty and/or impracticable map matching. This object is achieved by a method, an electronic safety system and a vehicle according to the independent patent claims. Useful further developments emerge from the dependent patent claims.

One aspect of the invention relates to a method for operating an electronic safety system of a vehicle, wherein a position relating to a potential dangerous situation is provided to an electronic evaluation unit of the electronic safety system, a danger to the vehicle posed by the potential dangerous situation is checked on the basis of a comparison of the position of the potential dangerous situation with location information of a digital map relating to an area surrounding the vehicle, wherein, if the danger posed by the potential dangerous situation cannot be successfully checked on the basis of the comparison, then, depending on information of the potential dangerous situation, a virtual safety area is defined at least in some areas around the vehicle by the electronic evaluation unit, and the danger posed by the potential dangerous situation to the vehicle is checked to determine whether the position of the potential dangerous situation is within the virtual safety area, and a check result of the verified threat to the vehicle posed by the potential hazardous situation is provided to the electronic safety system.

The proposed method enables a safety system such as the electronic safety system of a vehicle or motor vehicle to be operated better or more efficiently, since even if the dangerous situation is incorrectly or cannot be checked on the basis of the digital maps, a check can still be carried out as a fallback level. This can increase the safety of the vehicle and in particular of the vehicle's occupants, since two independently provided options for checking a dangerous situation can be carried out.

This means that an electronic security system can provide or transmit information, data and/or input parameters even if, for example, there is no digital map or an incomplete digital map regarding the current position of the vehicle. Information can also be provided to the electronic security system if, for example, insufficient or missing map data is stored in the digital map. If the digital map is incomplete, faulty or not available, the electronic security system can still carry out a corresponding check or assessment of the dangerous situation in order to be able to initiate, prepare or activate safety functions and/or safety precautions on the basis of this check.

The proposed method is also particularly advantageous if, for example, the vehicle is moving on a road or lane that is not included in any digital map, at least temporarily, and this road is therefore an unmapped road. In this case, the dangerous situation cannot be checked by comparing the position of the dangerous situation with location information from the digital map.

In particular, map matching can be carried out using the digital map. This means that the proposed method can be used to provide a fallback path or a fallback level in the event of faulty, inadequate or unreliable map matching. It can also happen that map matching or a map comparison can be carried out too slowly due to computing load, updating of the digital map or determining the position of the potential dangerous situation in relation to the position of the vehicle. In this case, the fallback level relating to the check can again be carried out using the virtual safety area.

For example, the position of the potential dangerous situation can be determined using a positioning system, such as a GNS system or a GPS system. This can be done, for example, in a vehicle other than the vehicle or by a system other than the vehicle or an external information point. The position or the information about the position of the dangerous situation can be transmitted to the electronic evaluation unit, for example, via Car2x communication. The electronic evaluation unit can be, for example, a computing unit or an evaluation system.

The digital map can, for example, be transmitted to the vehicle, in particular the electronic security system, at regular intervals from a server, a backend, a central traffic point or a vehicle manufacturer. For example, the digital map can be linked to a navigation system of the vehicle.

If it is now determined with the help of the electronic evaluation unit that a check based on the comparison of the position of the dangerous situation using the digital map could not be carried out, or was not successful or inadequate, then the fallback level can be used or activated automatically. In this case, the information on the potential dangerous situation can be transmitted or provided to the electronic evaluation unit at the same time as the position of the dangerous situation, for example. With the information on the potential dangerous situation, a type, extent, time or other information regarding the dangerous situation can be provided. On the basis of this information, a virtual safety area can be defined or virtually set up around the vehicle, at least in part or completely. In this virtual safety area, a virtual demarcation or a virtual fence around the vehicle is carried out. With the help of the virtual safety area, a geometric relevance check or relevance assessment of the potential dangerous situation can be carried out. The system checks whether the potential tial dangerous situation is within the virtual safety area. If it is determined here that the position of the dangerous situation is within the safety area, the risk from the potential dangerous situation for the vehicle is very high or critical. In this case, the safety system should immediately initiate safety measures or countermeasures.

As long as the dangerous situation is outside the safety area, the electronic safety system can be informed, in particular with the help of the check result, that there is currently no or no relevant danger to the vehicle.

In particular, the design, size, dimension and/or type of the virtual security area can be determined or adapted by the system depending on the situation on the basis of the respective potential danger situation.

In particular, the present method may be a computer-implemented method.

In one embodiment of the invention, it is provided that at least one safety function of the electronic safety system is activated depending on the check result. With the help of the check result determined by the system, a classification or an evaluation or an assessment of the danger to the vehicle posed by the potential dangerous situation can be carried out or made. The check result can thus be used to communicate to the safety system whether the danger posed by the dangerous situation is low or high. It can also be divided into whether the danger posed by the potential dangerous situation to the vehicle is currently or in the future relevant or not relevant. If, for example, the system determines that the danger posed to the vehicle is high and is therefore critical or dangerous for the vehicle and its occupants, appropriate countermeasures or precautions can be initiated or taken with the at least one activated safety function. Depending on the current situation with regard to the dangerous situation, various safety functions can be activated. Depending on the dangerous situation and, for example, depending on the distance between the vehicle and the dangerous situation, a cascaded activation of various, in particular coordinated, safety functions can be carried out. This means that a situation-specific safety function can be activated for a given current or future situation. This means that the vehicle and in particular the vehicle's occupants can be better protected from the danger posed by the hazardous situation.

The potentially dangerous situation may be, for example, a traffic jam, an accident, a bottleneck, a broken-down vehicle in a lane, slow-moving traffic, objects or potential collision objects in a lane, people in the lane, a construction site or any other current or future situation that poses a danger to the vehicle.

In a further embodiment, it is provided that an acoustic and/or optical warning signal is issued in the vehicle or in the vicinity of the vehicle with the at least one safety function. This allows the occupants of the vehicle and/or road users in the vicinity of the vehicle to be warned of the potential danger based on the dangerous situation, so that they can take appropriate measures or precautions. The warning in the vehicle enables the driver in particular to make manual interventions in the driving process or in the driving style, so that the danger based on the dangerous situation can be defused. The acoustic and/or optical warning signal can in turn be issued to the occupants of the vehicle as an acoustic and/or optical warning on an electronic output unit, such as the infotainment system, in the vehicle. With the help of optical and/or acoustic output units in the area of the outer shell of the vehicle, corresponding warning signals can be issued or broadcast to the surroundings of the vehicle.

In addition or instead of the at least one safety function, the longitudinal and/or lateral guidance of the vehicle can be automatically adjusted. Accordingly, depending on the current danger of the potential dangerous situation, system-side interventions in the vehicle guidance can be carried out. In this case, the electronic safety system can be used to automatically control the corresponding systems of the vehicle in order to adjust or adapt the longitudinal and/or lateral guidance of the vehicle on the system side in such a way that the danger relating to the dangerous situation can be responded to in order to ensure the safety of the driver. For example, a speed, an acceleration, a steering angle, a braking process and/or an occupant restraint system can be adjusted on the system side using the at least one safety function or several, in particular cascaded, safety functions.

In one embodiment, it is provided that the virtual safety area is defined based on a position of the vehicle. The virtual safety area or the virtual border can be made based on a wide variety of information regarding the vehicle, such as the position of the vehicle. The virtual safety area can be defined or virtually generated, particularly in relation to the position of the vehicle and the position of the dangerous situation. Furthermore, the respective conditions of the area surrounding the vehicle can be taken into account. If, for example, the vehicle is currently on a one-way street or on a road with only one lane, the virtual safety area can be virtually defined or specified in an area in front of the vehicle. Depending on the position of the vehicle and in particular depending on the position of the dangerous situation, the virtual safety area can be defined from several virtual sub-areas in the area around the vehicle. For example, the virtual safety area can be defined virtually from several virtual sub-areas that are based on the corner areas of the vehicle. In particular, the virtual safety area is defined or specified using software, in particular with the help of the electronic evaluation unit. Based on the current position of the vehicle, the virtual safety area can be continuously adapted to the current position of the vehicle.

In one embodiment, it is provided that the virtual safety area is dynamically adjusted based on a direction of movement and/or a speed and/or an acceleration of the vehicle. In other words, the virtual safety area can be continuously linked to a movement or a journey or a travel journey of the vehicle, so that a check can always be carried out to determine whether the dangerous situation is within the virtual safety area.

For example, the defined virtual safety area can be displayed on a display unit in the vehicle to the occupants, in particular the driver. For example, the virtual safety area can also be taken into account in a display of the vehicle's navigation system or in a head-up display.

In one embodiment, it is provided that a geometric design of the virtual safety area is adapted depending on a type and/or a danger level of the potential dangerous situation. Accordingly, a definition or generation of the virtual safety area can be carried out that is adapted to the situation or to the respective situation. If, for example, the potential dangerous situation has a critical or high danger level, the virtual safety area can be completely spanned around the vehicle. In addition, the virtual safety area can be defined widely around the vehicle in order to have enough time to be able to react accordingly if the potential dangerous situation is within the virtual safety area.

For example, the type of dangerous situation could be a wrong-way driver, so in this case the virtual safety area in front of the vehicle is set up virtually and extends as far in front of the vehicle as possible in order to be able to detect the possible wrong-way driver at an early stage. The dangerous situation could also be a traffic jam. In this case, the safety area in front of the vehicle is also set up virtually so that possible braking by a vehicle driving ahead can be detected accordingly.

In one embodiment, it is provided that, depending on the potential dangerous situation, the virtual safety area is divided into several sub-areas and the several sub-areas are arranged around the vehicle. The sub-areas are virtual sub-areas which are arranged virtually around the vehicle. For example, a danger emanating from the dangerous situation can affect several areas or several sides of the vehicle. For example, depending on the dangerous situation, the system can determine, for example based on the information regarding the dangerous situation, that a potential collision with the vehicle can occur on the left and right sides of the vehicle. In this case, sub-areas in the area of the left and right sides of the vehicle can be defined virtually in order to be able to carry out corresponding checks here. The respective situation and/or position of the vehicle can also be taken into account. must be taken into account in order to be able to determine a number of sub-areas accordingly.

In one embodiment, the information on the potential dangerous situation is provided to the electronic evaluation unit as to whether the dangerous situation is a static danger point and/or a dynamic object. This information can be used to determine or estimate how long the dangerous situation will continue to exist. If the dangerous situation is a static danger point, it can be assumed that the danger emanating from this danger point will continue to exist for a longer period of time. If it is a dynamic object, the system can determine or predict, depending on the distance to the dangerous situation, that this dynamic object will probably no longer be there when the vehicle reaches the dangerous situation. The system can therefore use the information on the potential dangerous situation to estimate or predict the extent to which the danger emanating from the dangerous situation actually exists or will exist in the future for the vehicle.

A static hazard could be, for example, a construction site, a serious accident, or a tree lying on the road. A dynamic object could be, for example, a broken-down vehicle, a car breakdown, a traffic jam, a wrong-way driver, or slow-moving traffic.

An independent aspect of the invention relates to a method for operating an electronic safety system of a vehicle, wherein information about a potentially dangerous situation for the vehicle is provided to an electronic evaluation unit and a position relating to the potentially dangerous situation is provided to the electronic evaluation unit. Depending on the information about the potentially dangerous situation, a virtual safety area is defined at least in some areas around the vehicle by the electronic evaluation unit, wherein an assessment result is determined by the electronic evaluation unit by checking whether the position of the potentially dangerous situation is within the virtual safety area, wherein the assessment result characterizes a danger to the vehicle posed by the potentially dangerous situation and the assessment result is provided to the electronic safety system. This method of the independent aspect can be used to expand vehicle safety systems so that they have a fallback level. It is also conceivable that this proposed method is used as a primary checking method with regard to the dangerous situation.

A further aspect (second aspect) relates to an electronic security system with an electronic evaluation unit, wherein the electronic security system is designed to carry out a method according to one of the preceding aspects or the advantages of further developments thereof. In particular, the method according to one of the preceding aspects or an advantageous further development thereof can be carried out with the electronic security system just described.

The electronic safety system can be an electronic system of a vehicle. For example, the electronic safety system can be designed as a driver assistance system or a vehicle guidance system. The electronic safety system can also be integrated into a vehicle guidance system or a driver assistance system.

A further aspect (third aspect) of the invention relates to a vehicle with an electronic security system according to the previous aspect or an advantageous development thereof.

For example, the components of the electronic security system can be fully integrated into the vehicle. It is also conceivable that the components of the electronic security system are partially integrated into the vehicle and other components of the electronic security system are designed externally to the vehicle as a data cloud, server unit or backend and these in turn are coupled to the components integrated in the vehicle via communication connections.

Advantageous embodiments of one aspect of the invention are to be regarded as advantageous embodiments of all other aspects. The electronic security system and/or the vehicle may have means for carrying out a method of one aspect of the invention.

A digital map can be understood as a data set or a plurality of data sets stored on a computer-readable storage medium and which spatially relates objects in a given spatial area to each other and/or to a predefined reference point. Optionally, the digital map can contain semantic information about the objects. A high-resolution digital map or An HD map can be understood as a digital map that has a spatial resolution on the order of one centimeter or less, in particular a resolution of less than 10 cm.

For use cases or application situations that may arise during the method and which are not explicitly described here, it may be provided that, in accordance with the method, an error message and/or a request to enter user feedback is issued and/or a default setting and/or a predetermined initial state is set.

The invention also includes the control device for the motor vehicle. The control device can have a data processing device or a processor device that is set up to carry out an embodiment of the method according to the invention. For this purpose, the processor device can have at least one microprocessor and/or at least one microcontroller and/or at least one FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) and/or at least one DSP (Digital Signal Processor). Furthermore, the processor device can have program code that is set up to carry out the embodiment of the method according to the invention when executed by the processor device. The program code can be stored in a data memory of the processor device. The processor device can be based, for example, on at least one circuit board and/or on at least one SoC (System on Chip).

The invention also includes further developments of the electronic security system according to the invention and of the vehicle according to the invention, which have features as have already been described in connection with the further developments of the method according to the invention. For this reason, the corresponding further developments of the electronic security system according to the invention and of the vehicle according to the invention are not described again here.

The vehicle according to the invention is preferably designed as a motor vehicle, in particular as a passenger car or truck, or as a passenger bus or motorcycle.

As a further solution, the invention also includes a computer-readable storage medium, comprising program code which, when executed by a computer or a computer network, causes it to carry out an embodiment of the method according to the invention. The storage medium can be provided at least partially as a non-volatile data memory (e.g. as a flash memory and/or as an SSD - solid state drive) and/or at least partially as a volatile data memory (e.g. as a RAM - random access memory). The storage medium can be arranged in the computer or computer network. However, the storage medium can also be operated, for example, as a so-called app store server and/or cloud server on the Internet. The computer or computer network can provide a processor circuit with, for example, at least one microprocessor. The program code can be provided as binary code and/or as assembler code and/or as source code of a programming language (e.g. C) and/or as a program script (e.g. Python).

The invention also includes combinations of the features of the described embodiments. The invention therefore also includes implementations that each have a combination of the features of several of the described embodiments, provided that the embodiments have not been described as mutually exclusive.

• 1 eine schematische Darstellung eines Fahrzeugs, welches ein elektronisches Sicherheitssystem aufweist;
• 2 eine beispielhafte Gefahrensituation, welche durch eine geometrische Relevanzbewertung bewertet wird; und
• 3 ein weiteres Beispiel einer Gefahrensituation, wobei hier durch mehrere virtuelle Teilbereiche eine geometrische Relevanzbewertung der Gefahrensituation durchgeführt wird.

Embodiments of the invention are described below.

• 1 a schematic representation of a vehicle having an electronic security system;
• 2 an exemplary hazard situation, which is evaluated by a geometric relevance assessment; and
• 3 another example of a dangerous situation, where a geometric relevance assessment of the dangerous situation is carried out using several virtual sub-areas.

The exemplary embodiments explained below are preferred embodiments of the invention. In the exemplary embodiments, the components of the embodiments described each represent individual features of the invention that are to be considered independently of one another and which also develop the invention independently of one another. Therefore, the disclosure should also include combinations of the features of the embodiments other than those shown. Furthermore, the described embodiments can also be supplemented by other features of the invention already described.

In the figures, identical reference symbols designate functionally identical elements.

In the 1 A vehicle 1 is shown in a schematic representation. The vehicle 1 can be a passenger car or a truck or another motor vehicle. For example, vehicle 1 can be designed as a highly automated vehicle.

In order to be able to operate the vehicle 1 more safely and consequently to be able to increase the safety of occupants or passengers of the vehicle 1, the vehicle 1 can have an electronic safety system 2. The electronic safety system 2 can be a system that is fully integrated in the vehicle 1, partially integrated or designed externally to the vehicle 1.

With the help of the electronic safety system 2, for example, safety functions can be activated in certain situations. For example, a warning can be issued to the passengers in the vehicle or to road users in an area 3 surrounding the vehicle 1. Likewise, with the help of the electronic safety system 2, system-side interventions in the vehicle guidance or vehicle control can be carried out. For this purpose, the electronic safety system 2 can be coupled to a driver assistance system and/or to a vehicle guidance system.

In particular, the electronic safety system 2 is designed such that it can react to dangers or potential dangers and can activate one or more suitable safety functions accordingly.

For example, the electronic safety system 2 can be used to assess or evaluate a potential dangerous situation 4 (cf. 2 and/or 3 ). The potential dangerous situation 4 can be a condition, situation or source of danger that can represent a potential danger for the vehicle 1. For example, the dangerous situation 4 can be on a route or section of a route on which the vehicle 1 is moving. In other words, the dangerous situation 4 can exist on a route on which the vehicle 1 is moving.

For example, a traffic jam, an accident, a wrong-way driver, a collision object, a construction site or another obstacle can be located far away from the vehicle 1 in the area of a route of the vehicle 1. It is also conceivable that the dangerous situation 4 is located in the surrounding area 3 of the vehicle 1. It is also conceivable that the dangerous situation 4 is approaching or is approaching the vehicle 1.

In order to be able to assess this dangerous situation 4, a position 5 (cf. 2 or 3 ) of the dangerous situation 4 are provided or transmitted to an electronic evaluation unit 6 of the electronic safety system 2. This can be done, for example, by road users in the vicinity of the dangerous situation 4. It is also conceivable that this is transmitted to the vehicle 1 by a traffic information system or a traffic service provider, i.e. an external information point. This can be done, for example, by means of Car2X or Car2Car communication or another communication standard.

Position 5 can be determined, for example, using GPS (“Global Position System”) or GNS (“Global Navigation System”). It is also conceivable that, instead of or in addition to position 4, an area relating to the dangerous situation 4 is transmitted to vehicle 1 and in particular to electronic safety system 2. In order to be able to check the dangerous situation, the system can compare position 5 with location information from a digital map 7 relating to the surrounding area 3. This comparison is a map matching or a map comparison. Accordingly, map data from digital map 7 can be used to check whether dangerous situation 4 represents a danger to vehicle 1, namely if dangerous situation 4 is along a section of the route or a route of vehicle 1 or in the immediate vicinity of vehicle 1.

If it is determined that there is a danger to vehicle 1, safety functions can be initiated and/or activated by safety system 2.

This comparison of position 5 using the information or map information of the digital map 7 can lead to errors, inaccuracies or unreliabilities. If, for example, the vehicle 1 is in an area or in an area or on a road for which there is no or at least no current map data in the digital map 7, or if the digital map 7 is faulty or incomplete in this regard, then no “map matching” can be carried out in this case. It can now happen that a check of the danger posed by the dangerous situation 4 cannot be carried out or can only be carried out inadequately. In order to remedy this, a fallback level or a fallback path can be provided or This fallback level can be used automatically in particular if the danger posed by the potential hazardous situation could not be successfully verified on the basis of the comparison between position 5 and the map data. In this case, a check can be carried out with regard to the danger using a geometric relevance assessment.

For the geometric or purely geometric relevance assessment of the hazard situation 4 or of an event, a virtual safety area (cf. 2 or 3 ) are set or generated or defined or determined by the electrical evaluation unit 6. For this purpose, in addition to the position 5, further information relating to the dangerous situation 4 can be provided or transmitted to the safety system 2. In this case, for example, the safety system 2 can be informed as information by road users or an external information point about the type and/or extent of the dangerous situation 4. A classification or rating of the danger level of the potential dangerous situation 4 can also be transmitted and thus provided. Furthermore, additional information can be communicated or provided as to whether the dangerous situation 4 is a static danger point, such as a construction site, or a dynamic object, such as a defective vehicle or a vehicle involved in an accident. In this way, a wide variety of information relating to the dangerous situation 4 can be taken into account when generating or defining the virtual safety area 4. Furthermore, a wide variety of vehicle-internal and/or vehicle-specific information of the vehicle 1 can be taken into account. Information relating to the surrounding area 3, i.e. environmental information, can also be taken into account. For this purpose, the vehicle 1 can have sensor systems or detection units.

The virtual safety area 8 is a computer-based and virtual area which is assigned to the vehicle 1 as an “imaginary” area on the system side. If, in turn, the dangerous situation 4 is within the safety area 8 as a result of a system-side check or the dangerous situation is immediately adjacent to the safety area 8, at least one safety function can be activated by the safety system 2. In this case, a check result can also be generated in which the dangerous situation can be classified, rated and evaluated. This check result can in turn be made available in the safety system 2 or other systems or other road users. In other words, a fallback path can be made available or provided if a map-matching-based relevance check regarding the dangerous situation 4 cannot be carried out due to missing map data. A geometric relevance check can be carried out in this fallback path or in this fallback level. For this purpose, it is conceivable that, for example, a geometric figure is spanned as a safety area 8 around the vehicle 1, as an ego vehicle. Received events, such as the dangerous situation 4, are only assessed as relevant from the perspective of vehicle 1 if position 5 is located in specific and freely definable areas of the geometric figure, i.e. the safety area 8.

In the 2 a conceivable situation with regard to a danger emanating from the hazardous situation 4 is shown as an example. In this case, the hazardous situation 4 or the event can be in front of the vehicle 1 when viewed in the direction of travel 9 of the vehicle 1. Thus, a danger emanating from the hazardous situation 4 can, for example, be a road user ahead braking hard. Since the hazardous situation 4 is in front of the vehicle 1, a geometric design or figure adapted to this situation can be used as the safety area 8. In this case, a virtual triangular shape is spanned or fixed or defined in front of the vehicle 1 as the virtual safety area 8. The design or shape or dimensions or dimensions of the safety area 8 can be dynamically adapted using driving information such as speed, acceleration and/or a steering angle of the vehicle 1. If the system now determines that the position 5 of the hazardous situation 4 is within the safety area 8, the hazardous situation 4 is relevant for the vehicle 1, since the hazardous situation 4 represents a relevant or actual danger for the vehicle 1. If it is determined that the dangerous situation 4 is outside the safety area 8, the dangerous situation 4 is not or less relevant for the vehicle 1 in terms of a potential danger.

Depending on the road conditions, traffic situation, speed of the vehicle 1 and/or the danger situation 4, the size or an area or extent of the virtual safety area 8 so that there is sufficient time after the actual danger of the hazardous situation 4 has been determined for the activation and implementation of safety functions.

For example, at least one detection unit of the vehicle 1, such as sensors, cameras and/or sensor systems, can be used to determine that the dangerous situation 4 is within the safety area 8. Likewise, in addition to or instead of this, a comparison can be carried out with regard to the position of the vehicle 1 and thus of the safety area 8 in relation to the position 5 of the dangerous situation 4.

In the 3 the dangerous situation 4 or several potential dangerous situations can be located in an area around the vehicle 1. Thus, for an event which can be relevant, for example, 360 degrees around the vehicle 1 and could therefore pose a danger, this can be checked using the geometric relevance assessment by spanning the virtual safety area 8 around the vehicle 1. As can be seen in this example, the virtual safety area 8 can be divided into four sub-areas 10 or quadrants. The design of these sub-areas 10 and in particular the number of these sub-areas 10 is arbitrary and can be adapted depending on the situation, in particular with regard to the dangerous situation 4.

It is also conceivable that the safety area 8 is spanned or defined in a ring around the vehicle 1 so that all possible dangers around the vehicle can be checked by means of a geometric relevance assessment. In this way, the safety of the vehicle 1 can be increased even in the event of a failure or faulty map matching.

By dividing it as in the 3 to see into several sub-areas 10 can be made more precisely if it is determined that the position 5 is located within such a sub-area 10. Depending on which sub-area 10 the dangerous situation 4 is located within or intersects, the system can determine whether the dangerous situation 4 occurs on the driver's side, passenger side, front or rear of the vehicle 1. This allows special safety functions to be carried out according to the situation. This also allows a specific warning and/or intervention with regard to the sub-area 10 and in relation to the direction of travel 9.

In particular, the virtual safety area 8 can be virtually spanned at least in parts, in particular completely, in the immediate vicinity of the vehicle 1, so that as many areas of the vehicle 1 as possible can be assessed or evaluated with regard to a danger based on the dangerous situation 4.

Overall, the examples show how a procedure for assessing the relevance of events of a safety driver assistance function can be provided in case of missing map data.

list of reference symbols

1

vehicle

2

security system

3

surrounding area

4

dangerous situation

5

position of the dangerous situation

6

electronic evaluation unit

7

digital map

8

virtual security area

9

direction of travel

10

sub-area

QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of documents listed by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Cited patent literature

• DE 102018130457 A1 [0006]
• US 20200192356 A1 [0007]
• EP 3496064 A2 [0008]

Claims (10)

Method for operating an electronic security system (2) of a vehicle (1), wherein - a position (5) relating to a potential dangerous situation (4) is provided to an electronic evaluation unit (6) of the electronic security system (2), - a danger to the vehicle (1) posed by the potential dangerous situation (4) is checked on the basis of a comparison of the position (5) of the potential dangerous situation (4) with location information from a digital map (7) relating to an area surrounding the vehicle (1), characterized in that - if the danger posed by the potential dangerous situation (4) cannot be successfully checked on the basis of the comparison, then a virtual safety area (8) is defined at least in areas around the vehicle (1) by the electronic evaluation unit (6) depending on information about the potential dangerous situation (4), and the danger posed by the potential dangerous situation (4) to the vehicle (1) is checked to see whether the position (5) of the potential dangerous situation (4) is within the virtual safety area (8). and - a verification result of the verified danger posed to the vehicle (1) by the potential dangerous situation (4) is provided to the electronic safety system (2). procedure according to claim 1 , characterized in that depending on the check result, at least one safety function of the electronic security system (2) is activated. procedure according to claim 2 , characterized in that - with the at least one safety function, an acoustic and/or optical warning signal is output in the vehicle (1) and/or in the surrounding area (3) of the vehicle (1), and/or - with the at least one safety function, a longitudinal guidance and/or a transverse guidance of the vehicle (1) is automatically adjusted. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the virtual safety area (8) is determined on the basis of a position of the vehicle (1). Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the virtual safety area (8) is dynamically adapted on the basis of a direction of movement and/or a speed and/or an acceleration of the vehicle (1). Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a geometric configuration of the virtual safety area (8) is adapted depending on a type and/or a danger level of the potential danger situation (4). Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that , depending on the potential danger situation (4), the virtual safety area (8) is divided into several sub-areas (10), and the several sub-areas (10) are arranged virtually distributed around the vehicle (1). Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the information of the potential dangerous situation (4) is provided to the electronic evaluation unit (6) as to whether the dangerous situation (4) is a static danger point and/or a dynamic object. Electronic security system (2) with an electronic evaluation unit (6), wherein the electronic security system (2) is designed to carry out a method according to one of the preceding claims. Vehicle (1) with an electronic security system (2) according to claim 9 .

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