IP Library Granted Patent US 12686384
Granted Patent B2
US 12686384 · App. 18/743,663 · Granted Jul 21, 2026

Vehicle and method for the operation thereof

Inventor: Fridtjof Stein (Ostfildern, DE)
Assignee: DAIMLER TRUCK AG
B60W30/09G06V10/80G06V20/58B60W2420/403B60W2420/408B60W2520/10B60W2554/4041B60W2554/4042B60W2554/406B60W2556/35B60W2556/40B60W2556/50B60W2720/10
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12686384
App. No.
18/743,663
Granted
Jul 21, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

Surroundings in front of a vehicle are detected and the vehicle speed is reduced when the surroundings are partially shaded so the vehicle can be brought to a safe stop, without emergency braking, in front of an object located in the region of the shadowing in the lane in which the vehicle is travelling. In the event of a static detection of a reduced detection horizon less than a braking distance dependent on a current speed, the vehicle is decelerated such that the reduced detection horizon is again greater than the braking distance. Other road users in the surroundings of the vehicle are traced with sensors and shadowing by them and a resulting expected reduced detection horizon are determined in advance of a future point in time so that the vehicle speed is reduced and the expected reduced detection horizon at the time is again greater than the braking distance.

Claims (29)

1 . A vehicle, comprising:

at least one sensor configured to detect road users in surroundings in of the vehicle,

wherein the vehicle is configured to

determine that one of the road users is a static object within a detection horizon of the at least one sensor in front of the vehicle in a lane in which the vehicle is traveling;

determine a braking distance between the vehicle and the static object;

determine that the braking distance is less than the detection horizon of the at least one sensor;

reduce, responsive to determining the static object is within the detection horizon and that the braking distance is less than the detection horizon of the at least one sensor, a speed of the vehicle to a first reduced speed that brakes the vehicle within the determined braking distance without requiring emergency braking by the vehicle;

determine, at a subsequent time, that a current detection horizon of the at least one sensor is less than a current braking distance between the vehicle and the static object;

determine a second reduced speed that brings the vehicle to a standstill before reaching the static object and that causes the static object to be within an updated detection horizon, wherein the second reduced speed is lower than the first reduced speed; and

reduce the speed of the vehicle to the second reduced speed so that the vehicle comes to the standstill before reaching the static object and the static object is within the updated detection horizon.

2 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor is a camera, a radar sensor, or a lidar sensor.

3 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle is a commercial vehicle.

4 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle has a cabin, and

wherein the at least one sensor is arranged above the cabin.

5 . A method for operating a vehicle, the method comprising:

detecting, by at least one sensor of the vehicle, road users in surroundings of the vehicle;

determining, by the vehicle, that one of the road users is a static object within a detection horizon of the at least one sensor in front of the vehicle in a lane in which the vehicle is traveling;

determining, by the vehicle, a braking distance between the vehicle and the static object;

determining, by the vehicle, that the braking distance is less than the detection horizon of the at least one sensor;

reducing, responsive to determining the static object is within the detection horizon and that the braking distance is less than the detection horizon of the at least one sensor, a speed of the vehicle to a first reduced speed that brakes the vehicle within the determined braking distance without requiring emergency braking by the vehicle;

determining, by the vehicle at a subsequent time, that a current detection horizon of the at least one sensor is less than a current braking distance between the vehicle and the static object;

determining, by the vehicle, a second reduced speed that brings the vehicle to a standstill before reaching the static object and that causes the static object to be within an updated detection horizon, wherein the second reduced speed is lower than the first reduced speed; and

reducing, by the vehicle, the speed of the vehicle to the second reduced speed so that the vehicle comes to the standstill before reaching the static object and the static object is within the updated detection horizon.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the at least one sensor comprises a plurality of sensors detecting the road users in the surroundings of the vehicle, the method further comprising:

fusing data from the plurality of sensors to form fused data; and

determining attributes of the road users in the surroundings of the vehicle using the fused data and data from a satellite navigation system and a digital map,

wherein the determined attributes include location, speed, and volume of the road users in the surroundings of the vehicle, and

wherein the determination that the one of the road users is the static object is based on the determined attributes.

7 . The vehicle of claim 4 , wherein the vehicle is a commercial vehicle and the at least one sensor is arranged above a cabin of at least one of the road users in the surroundings of the vehicle.