Motorcycle with device for detecting a vehicle approaching from the rear

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10377308-B2
Application number	US-201815975223-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 9, 2018
Priority date	May 10, 2017
Publication date	Aug 13, 2019
Grant date	Aug 13, 2019

Abstract

A motorcycle includes a frame mounted on wheels having a front and rear parts, handlebar located at the front part motorcycle speed and roll angle detector, the front and rear parts join on a frame longitudinal median plane (W). A device for detecting a vehicle moving towards the rear part when the motorcycle is moving, the device including a radar detector or television camera rigidly of one piece with the motorcycle, the radar detector rigidly associated with the rear part and following its movement. The radar detector connected to a presence and movement evaluator of the vehicle moving towards the rear part capable of determining a variable hazard indication which identifies a time to collision between the vehicle and the motorcycle. The evaluator activating warning means on the basis of such hazard indication which generate a warning for the rider's attention when the hazard indication reaches a predetermined value.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A motorcycle comprising
a frame mounted on wheels and having a front part and a rear part,
a handlebar being present at the front part,
detection means on the motorcycle to detect at least the speed and roll angle of the motorcycle when in movement,
the frame having a longitudinal median plane joining the front part and rear part,
a device for detecting a vehicle moving towards the rear part of the motorcycle when such motorcycle is in movement,
said device for detecting comprising a detection device rigidly of one piece with the motorcycle, said detection device comprising a sensor for detecting the speed of the vehicle,
said detection device being connected to means for evaluating the presence and movement of said vehicle which is moving towards the rear part of the motorcycle, approaching said motorcycle, said evaluation means being capable of activating warning means generating a warning for a rider's attention when said vehicle is detected,
the evaluation means comprising a component at least capable of determining the speed of a vehicle following the motorcycle,
wherein the evaluation means operate in relation to the roll angle of the motorcycle, comparing the roll angle of the motorcycle with a threshold value of the angle, the detection means being in particular activated if the roll angle of the motorcycle is less than a predetermined threshold angle value,
wherein if the motorcycle inclines to a roll angle greater than the threshold value, the sensor is disabled with a consequent warning being provided to the rider;
wherein the evaluation means define a variable hazard indication which identifies the time to collision between the approaching vehicle and the motorcycle, said indication being defined on the basis of a comparison between the speed of the motorcycle and the speed of the vehicle moving towards the rear part of the motorcycle and a comparison between the relative distances between said motorcycle and said vehicle,
said warning means being activated whenever the time to collision is less than a predetermined value.

2. The motorcycle according to claim 1 , wherein said variable hazard indication identifying a time to collision is determined by the following formula:
TTC= d/ 5 vx
where:
TTC=time to collision;
d=distance of the motorcycle from the vehicle as defined by the detection device of one piece with the motorcycle;
8vx=difference between the speed of the vehicle following the motorcycle and the speed of the motorcycle;
said hazard indication being capable of being compared with a predetermined value.

3. The motorcycle according to claim 1 , wherein the evaluation means are capable of activating warning means to generate a warning signal when a vehicle which has been detected to approach the motorcycle approaches a blind spot not covered by the visual field of the motorcycle's rider or the motorcycle's mirrors, said warning signal is based on a danger indicator defined by the evaluation means when the detected approaching vehicle enters the blind spot and deriving from the detection of the variation in the distance between the vehicle that follows the motorcycle and the motorcycle itself.

4. The motorcycle according to claim 1 , wherein the warning means have graduated activation according to the value of the variable hazard indication defined by the evaluation means.

5. The motorcycle according to claim 4 , wherein said warning means which are gradually activated according to the hazard indication determined are a luminous device comprising at least one LED associated with the handlebar or a vibrator associated with the motorcycle, the rider's clothing or helmet, capable of generating vibration which can be perceived by the rider, the luminous or vibrational signal of such warning means varying according to the value of the hazard indication.

6. The motorcycle according to claim 1 , wherein said evaluation means are activated when the speed of the motorcycle is above or at least equal to a threshold value.

7. The motorcycle according to claim 1 , wherein the detected speed of the vehicle following the motorcycle is the absolute speed of that vehicle or the relative speed of said vehicle on the basis of which the absolute speed of the vehicle is determined.

8. The motorcycle according to claim 1 , wherein said component comprises a filter such as a Kalman filter or the like capable of determining the distance of vehicle from the motorcycle.

9. The motorcycle according to claim 1 , wherein said component is connected to a control unit of the evaluation means which determines whether or not there is a hazard situation for the rider on the basis of the roll angle of the motorcycle and if so activates the warning means.

10. The motorcycle according to claim 5 , wherein the evaluation means, which also operate on the basis of the roll angle of the motorcycle, disable the detection device if said roll angle has a value greater than the predetermined threshold value so as to interrupt detection of the vehicle approaching the rear part of the motorcycle, the warning means being active in this condition.

11. The motorcycle according to claim 1 , wherein said warning means operate in a different manner if a possible hazard associated with the hazard indication which identifies the time to collision is determined or if the roll angle greater than the set threshold value is detected.

12. The motorcycle according to claim 1 , wherein the detected speed of the approaching vehicle is considered to be constant when evaluating the hazard indication defining time to collision when said vehicle can no longer be detected by the detection device for a limited period of time, preferably less than 1 second.

13. The motorcycle according to claim 1 , wherein said detection device is a radar or television camera and is connected to a data exchange network of the motorcycle and receives data relating to the speed of said motorcycle and data relating to the motorcycle's roll angle.

14. The motorcycle according to claim 12 , wherein there is a device defining a value of the yaw angle of the motorcycle on the basis of the roll angle that is located between the detection device and the motorcycle's data exchange network, and that it passes this value to said detection device.

15. The motorcycle according to claim 2 , wherein said warning means operate in a different manner if a possible hazard associated with the hazard indication which identifies the time to collision is determined or if the roll angle greater than the set threshold value is detected.

16. The motorcycle according to claim 5 , wherein said warning means operate in a different manner if a possible hazard associated with the hazard indication which identifies the time to collision is determined or if the roll angle greater than the set threshold value is detected.

17. The motorcycle according to claim 9 , wherein said warning means operate in a different manner if a possible hazard associated with the hazard indication which identifies the time to collision is determined or if the roll angle greater than the set threshold value is detected.

18. A motorcycle comprising
a frame mounted on wheels and having a front part and a rear part,
a handlebar being present at the front part,
detection means on the motorcycle to detect at least the speed and roll angle of the motorcycle when in movement,
the frame having a longitudinal median plane joining the front part and rear part,
a device for detecting a vehicle moving towards the rear part of the motorcycl

Assignees

• Ducati Motor Holding Spa
• Milano Politecnico

Inventors

• Savaresi Sergio Matteo
• Panzani Giulio
• Amodio Alessandro
• Zampieri Pierluigi
• Codeca' Fabio

Classifications

• B62J45/00

  Electrical equipment arrangements specially adapted for use as accessories on cycles, not otherwise provided for · CPC title

• G01S2013/9325

  for inter-vehicle distance regulation, e.g. navigating in platoons · CPC title

• G01S2013/93272

  in the back of the vehicles · CPC title

• G08G1/166

  for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes · CPC title

• G01S13/931

  of land vehicles · CPC title