# US 2014/0197939 A1 · Method for preventing or reducing collision damage to a parked vehicle

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- Number: US 2014/0197939 A1
- Document ID: US20140197939A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 14/154,787
- Filed: 2014-01-14
- Published: 2014-07-17
- Earliest claimed: 2013-01-15
- Assignees: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
- Applicants: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
- Inventors: Frederic STEFAN; Uwe GUSSEN; Christoph ARNDT; Goetz-Philipp WEGNER
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140197939A1

## CPC

- B60Q 9/008: {for anti-collision purposes}
- B60Q 9/007: {providing information about the distance to an obstacle, e.g. varying sound}
- B60W 30/09: Taking automatic action to avoid collision, e.g. braking and steering
- B60W 30/0956: {the prediction being responsive to traffic or environmental parameters}
- G08G 1/165: {for passive traffic, e.g. including static obstacles, trees}
- G08G 1/168: {Driving aids for parking, e.g. acoustic or visual feedback on parking space}
- B60W 2556/45: External transmission of data to or from the vehicle
- B60Q: ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60W: CONJOINT CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUB-UNITS OF DIFFERENT TYPE OR DIFFERENT FUNCTION; CONTROL SYSTEMS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR HYBRID VEHICLES; ROAD VEHICLE DRIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR PURPOSES NOT RELATED TO THE CONTROL OF A PARTICULAR SUB-UNIT
- G08G: TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS (guiding railway traffic, ensuring the safety of railway traffic B61L; arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00; radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91, G01S15/88, G01S17/88; {radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for anti-collision purposes G01S13/93, G01S15/93, G01S17/93})

## Abstract

A method for avoiding or reducing damage to a parked vehicle caused by a collision with an approaching vehicle performing a parking operation included determining, by the parked vehicle, a risk of collision, transmitting a warning signal if the risk of collision is sufficiently high, monitoring whether the approaching vehicle reacts to the warning signal, and performing a maneuver by the parked vehicle to avoid or reduce collision damage if there is no reaction. The maneuver may permit a controlled contact between the parked vehicle and the approaching vehicle to minimize the force of the contact. After such a controlled contact, a braking torque exerted by the parked vehicle is increased. Following completion of the damage avoidance maneuver, an estimate of the extent of the completed damage prevention is made and provided to the owner of the parked vehicle (including information about potential saved repair costs).

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for avoiding or reducing damage to a parked vehicle caused by a collision with an approaching vehicle performing a parking operation, comprising:
determining, by the parked vehicle, a risk of collision with the approaching vehicle;
transmitting a warning signal by the parked vehicle if the risk of collision is sufficiently high;
monitoring whether there is a reaction to the warning signal by the approaching vehicle; and
performing a maneuver by the parked vehicle to avoid or reduce collision damage if there is no reaction to the warning signal by the approaching vehicle.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the maneuver is performed such that a distance between the parked vehicle and the approaching vehicle does not fall below a minimum distance.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the maneuver is performed such that a controlled contact between the parked vehicle and the approaching vehicle occurs.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The method of claim 3, further comprising:
following the controlled contact between the parked vehicle and the approaching vehicle a braking torque exerted by the parked vehicle is increased.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein transmission of the warning continues until the maneuver is completed.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein a characteristic of the warning signal is determined based upon on an estimated probability of a collision and/or upon an expected extent of collision damage.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
after completion of the maneuver, estimating an extent of damage avoided by performing the maneuver.

### Claim 8

A method for reducing a likelihood and/or severity of damage to a parked vehicle caused by a collision with an approaching vehicle performing a parking operation, comprising:
operating a system on-board the parked vehicle to detect the approaching vehicle;
determining a risk of collision between the parked vehicle and the approaching vehicle;
transmitting at least one of an audible and a visible warning signal from the parked vehicle if the risk of collision is sufficiently high;
operating the system to monitor whether the approaching vehicle reacts to the warning signal; and
if the approaching vehicle does not react to the warning signal, moving the parked vehicle away from the approaching vehicle.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The method of claim 8, wherein the parked vehicle is moved to prevent a distance between the parked vehicle and the approaching vehicle from falling below a minimum distance.

### Claim 10 (depends on 8)

The method of claim 8, wherein the parked vehicle is moved to create a controlled contact between the parked vehicle and the approaching vehicle.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10, further comprising:
following the controlled contact between the parked vehicle and the approaching vehicle a braking torque exerted by the parked vehicle is increased.

### Claim 12 (depends on 8)

The method of claim 8, wherein transmission of the warning continues until the movement of the parked vehicle is complete.

### Claim 13 (depends on 8)

The method of claim 8, wherein a characteristic of the warning signal is determined based upon on an estimated probability of a collision and/or upon an expected extent of collision damage.

### Claim 14 (depends on 8)

The method of claim 8, further comprising:
after completion of the maneuver, estimating an extent of damage avoided by the movement of the parked vehicle.

### Claim 15

A method for reducing a severity of damage to a parked vehicle, comprising:
monitoring at least one parking space adjacent to the parked vehicle using a system on-board the parked vehicle to detect an approaching vehicle performing a parking operation;
determining a risk of a collision between the parked vehicle and the approaching vehicle;
transmitting at least one of an audible and a visible warning signal from the parked vehicle if the risk of collision is sufficiently high;
monitoring whether the approaching vehicle reacts to the warning signal by reducing the risk of collision;
determining whether sufficient space exists adjacent to the parked vehicle to permit the parked vehicle to avoid the collision by moving away from the approaching vehicle; and
if the approaching vehicle does not react to the warning signal and sufficient space to avoid the collision does not exist, moving the parked vehicle away from the approaching vehicle by an amount to permit a controlled contact between the parked vehicle and the approaching vehicle.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The method of claim 15, wherein a characteristic of the warning signal is determined based upon on an estimated probability of a collision and/or upon an expected extent of collision damage.

### Claim 17 (depends on 15)

The method of claim 15, further comprising:
after completion of the movement of the parked vehicle, estimating an extent of damage avoided by the movement of the parked vehicle.