Method for a controller of a vehicle for operating a movable component of the vehicle, controller, vehicle and computer program

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12546147-B2
Application number	US-202218718775-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 21, 2022
Priority date	Dec 20, 2021
Publication date	Feb 10, 2026
Grant date	Feb 10, 2026

Abstract

A system and method for operating a movable component of a vehicle. The system involves a control device that assigns a trajectory to the movable component and determines a control signal for operating the movable component based on the trajectory and a gesture. The assignment and control signal are determined using a tangent of the trajectory and/or an angle formed by the tangent and a reference direction relative to the vehicle. This approach effectively considers the vehicle's approach using straightforward techniques. The disclosure also encompasses a control device, a vehicle incorporating the control device, and a computer program for implementing the method.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A method for a control device of a vehicle for operating a movable component of the vehicle, the method comprising:
receiving distance information detected via a distance sensor, wherein the distance information is related to a distance between the vehicle and a vehicle-external portable user device; establishing a communication connection between the control device and the user device for transmitting portions of movement information to the control device; receiving movement information detected by at least one sensor of the user device and related to a movement of the user device; determining a trajectory relative to the vehicle based on the movement information detected by the user device; determining an assignment of the trajectory to the movable component of the vehicle; detecting a gesture based on the movement information; determining a control signal based on the trajectory and the gesture; and operating the movable component as a function of the control signal, wherein the determination of the assignment and/or the determination of the control signal are carried out based on a tangent vector of the trajectory derived from the movement information and/or an angle between the tangent vector and a reference direction of the vehicle, wherein the reference direction corresponds to a longitudinal axis of the vehicle.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the establishment of the communication connection and/or receiving of the movement information take place after receiving distance information with a predetermined distance information value corresponding to an initialization site.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the determination of the assignment of the trajectory to the movable component of the vehicle and/or the determination of the control signal are carried out taking an assignment site assigned to the trajectory into consideration.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the detection of the gesture and/or the determination of the control signal are carried out taking an operating site assigned to the trajectory into consideration.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a control signal is determined based on a combination of a variable characterizing the trajectory from a set of variables characterizing trajectories and the gesture from a set of gestures, the set of variables characterizing trajectories and/or the set of gestures being adaptable after the determination of the control signal.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the determination of a control signal is assigned to a user and/or a certain user device.

7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining a preliminary control signal after the assignment of the trajectory to the movable component has been determined; and validating the preliminary control signal based on the control signal determined from the trajectory and the gesture.

8 . A control device for a vehicle for operating a movable component of a vehicle, the control device comprising:
a distance sensor configured to detect distance information related to a distance between the vehicle and a vehicle-external portable user device; a communication interface configured to establish a communication connection between the control device and the user device for transmitting portions of movement information to the control device; a memory; and a processor configured to:
receive the distance information from the distance sensor;
receive movement information detected by at least one sensor of the user device via the communication interface, the movement information being related to a movement of the user device;
determine a trajectory relative to the vehicle based on the movement information detected by the user device;
determine an assignment of the trajectory to the movable component of the vehicle;
detect a gesture based on the movement information;
determine a control signal based on the trajectory and the gesture; and
operate the movable component as a function of the control signal,
wherein the determination of the assignment and/or the determination of the control signal are carried out based on a tangent vector of the trajectory derived from the movement information and/or an angle between the tangent vector and a reference direction of the vehicle, wherein the reference direction corresponds to a longitudinal axis of the vehicle.

9 . The control device of claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to establish the communication connection and/or receive the movement information after receiving distance information with a predetermined distance information value corresponding to an initialization site.

10 . The control device of claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine the assignment of the trajectory to the movable component of the vehicle and/or determine the control signal taking an assignment site assigned to the trajectory into consideration.

11 . The control device of claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to detect the gesture and/or determine the control signal taking an operating site assigned to the trajectory into consideration.

12 . The control device of claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine a control signal based on a combination of a variable characterizing the trajectory from a set of variables characterizing trajectories and the gesture from a set of gestures, the set of variables characterizing trajectories and/or the set of gestures being adaptable after the determination of the control signal.

13 . The control device of claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to assign the determination of a control signal to a user and/or a certain user device.

14 . The control device of claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine a preliminary control signal after the assignment of the trajectory to the movable component has been determined; and validate the preliminary control signal based on the control signal determined from the trajectory and the gesture.

15 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a program which, when executed by a processor, causes a control device of a vehicle to perform a method for operating a movable component of the vehicle, the method comprising:
receiving distance information detected via a distance sensor, wherein the distance information is related to a distance between the vehicle and a vehicle-external portable user device; establishing a communication connection between the control device and the user device for transmitting portions of movement information to the control device; receiving movement information detected by at least one sensor of the user device and related to a movement of the user device; determining a trajectory relative to the vehicle based on the movement information detected by the user device; determining an assignment of the trajectory to the movable component of the vehicle; detecting a gesture based on the movement information; determining a control signal based on the trajectory and the gesture; and operating the movable component as a function of the control signal, wherein the determination of the assignment and/or the determination of the control signal are carried out based on a tangent vector of the trajectory derived from the movement information and/or an angle between the tangent vector and a reference direction of the vehicle, wherein the reference direction corresponds to a longitudinal axis of the vehicle.

16 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium o

Assignees

• Volkswagen Ag

Inventors

• Ette Bernd
• Beckmann Benedikt

Classifications

• G07C2009/00769

  with data transmission performed by wireless means · CPC title

• B60R25/24

  using electronic identifiers containing a code not memorised by the user · CPC title

• E05B81/78 Primary

  as part of a hands-free locking or unlocking operation · CPC title

• G06F3/017 Primary

  Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures (interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883) · CPC title