KR102537015B1 - Apparatus and method for registering kick gesturess for opening control of car trunk and tailgate - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus for controlling the opening of a trunk and a tailgate, comprising: a vehicle sensor unit that detects an object approaching from the rear of a vehicle and recognizes whether the object is an authorized user; a radar-type kick sensor unit recognizing a kick gesture performed by the object at the rear of the vehicle using a radar-type kick sensor; and a control unit for pre-registering and storing information for user authentication and a kick gesture, and controlling opening of the trunk or tailgate of the vehicle when the authenticated user performs a pre-registered kick gesture from the rear of the vehicle.

Description

Kick gesture registration device and method for opening control of trunk and tailgate

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for registering a kick gesture for controlling the opening of a trunk and a tailgate, and more particularly, to controlling the opening of a trunk and a tailgate of a vehicle by using at least one sensor installed in the vehicle and a radar-type kick sensor. It relates to an apparatus and method for registering a kick gesture for controlling the opening of a trunk and a tailgate, enabling automatic execution.

In general, to approach and load a heavy load with both hands, you must put the load down, open the trunk, then lift the load again, put it in the trunk, and close the trunk. The action of putting a heavy load on the floor and then lifting it again can strain the lower back and injure the back, and if the load is placed on the trunk, the steel plate may be pressed or scratched due to the weight.

In order to solve this problem, automobile manufacturers have studied many methods of automatically opening the trunk when a user approaches. The trunk is opened by approaching the trunk with a smart key or by putting a foot under the vehicle and stirring it.

For example, Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 10-2014-0012304 and Registered Patent Publication No. 10-1636297 are conventional technologies related to automatic trunk opening. However, these conventional methods have a problem in that the trunk opens when someone approaches the trunk even though they do not intend to open the trunk, or they have to struggle with their feet in an inaccurate location until the sensor recognizes the foot.

That is, there are problems in that the car trunk does not open exactly when it should be opened and opens in a situation where it should not be opened.

Accordingly, Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 10-2019-0122483 (published on October 30, 2019, Apparatus and Method for Automatic Trunk Opening Control Using Projection Image) identifies the location of the smart key and determines the location of the smart key, and the projection image allows the user to open the trunk. A technique for resolving an erroneous operation of opening a trunk by confirming an intention has been proposed.

However, although the person who loads the car may be the user (e.g., the driver with the smart key), in reality, the user may have come near the vehicle with luggage to load the luggage in the trunk, but may not have the smart key, and may have the smart key. An additional problem of not being able to open the trunk may occur if one person and the person carrying the luggage to load the trunk are far apart.

For example, if the user with the smart key is far away from the vehicle, or if the user forgets and approaches the vehicle with luggage while leaving the smart key in the house, the user may go to find the smart key while leaving the luggage near the vehicle. However, if the luggage can be lost, a problem of having to find the smart key while holding the luggage again may occur.

Therefore, as an additional technology to further improve user convenience, a technology that allows the user to control trunk opening by recognizing the user in a different way (e.g., face recognition) is needed even when the user does not have the smart key. situation.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the present invention has been created to solve the above problems, and automatically controls the opening of the trunk and tailgate of the vehicle by using at least one sensor installed in the vehicle and a radar type kick sensor. An object of the present invention is to provide a trunk and tailgate opening control device and method.

An apparatus for controlling opening of a trunk and a tailgate according to an aspect of the present invention includes a vehicle sensor unit that detects an object approaching from the rear of a vehicle and recognizes whether the object is an authorized user; a radar-type kick sensor unit recognizing a kick gesture performed by the object at the rear of the vehicle using a radar-type kick sensor; and a controller for pre-registering and storing information for user authentication and a kick gesture, and controlling opening of the trunk or tailgate of the vehicle when the authenticated user performs a previously registered kick gesture from the rear of the vehicle. to be characterized

In the present invention, the vehicle sensor unit is characterized in that it includes at least one or more of a camera sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, and a wireless sensor.

In the present invention, the controller outputs a sound alarm or a light alarm when registering the user's face and kick gesture or recognizing the user's face or kick gesture of an object approaching the rear of the vehicle. .

In the present invention, when the object approaching the vehicle is a user possessing a smart key, the control unit controls opening of the trunk or tailgate of the vehicle by checking only the kick gesture even if the user's face is not recognized. do.

In the present invention, according to the control of the control unit, an actuator driving unit that drives at least one or more of a locking device, a motor, and a hydraulic device, which are components related to opening a trunk or a tailgate of a vehicle; characterized in that it further comprises do.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for controlling the opening of a trunk and a tailgate includes, when an object approaching the rear of the vehicle is detected while the vehicle is stopped, the controller detects a distance of the object approaching the rear of the vehicle to a predetermined distance. Recognizing a face when approaching within the range; When a face of an object approaching within the predetermined distance is detected, checking, by the controller, whether the face-detected object is a pre-registered user; detecting, by the controller, a kick gesture performed by the user when the object is one of pre-registered users; and controlling, by the controller, opening of the trunk or tailgate of the vehicle when the detected kick gesture is one of pre-registered kick gestures.

In the present invention, in the step of recognizing a face when approaching within the predetermined distance, the controller informs the user that the face has been recognized through an output of a sound alarm or a light alarm.

In the present invention, before the step of recognizing the face when approaching within the predetermined distance, in the kick gesture setting mode for the control unit to control the opening of the trunk or tailgate of the vehicle, the distance for recognizing the user through the vehicle sensor unit It is characterized in that it further includes; setting and performing face registration.

In the present invention, the kick gesture setting mode is characterized in that the control unit enters the kick gesture setting mode when a user's smart key or a menu provided inside the vehicle is input.

In the present invention, in the step of performing the distance setting and face registration, when the distance setting and face registration are completed within a specified time, the control unit registering the user's kick gesture; notifying a kick gesture registration state to a user by outputting a designated sound alarm or light alarm by the control unit; and storing, by the controller, the registered distance information, user information, and kick gesture information in a storage unit when the registration of the kick gesture is completed within a specified time.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the opening control of the trunk and tailgate of the vehicle can be automatically performed using at least one sensor installed in the vehicle and a radar-type kick sensor.

1 is an exemplary view showing a schematic configuration of an apparatus for controlling opening of a trunk and a tailgate according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of registering information for controlling the opening of a trunk and a tailgate according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method of controlling opening of a trunk and a tailgate based on pre-registered information and information detected using a radar-type kick sensor in FIG. 2; FIG.
FIG. 4 is an exemplary diagram shown to explain an example of a kick gesture in FIG. 2;
5 is an exemplary view shown to compare characteristics of a radar type kick sensor with characteristics of a conventional electrostatic kick sensor in FIG. 1;

Hereinafter, an embodiment of an apparatus and method for controlling opening of a trunk and a tailgate according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In this process, the thickness of lines or the size of components shown in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity and convenience of explanation. In addition, terms to be described later are terms defined in consideration of functions in the present invention, which may vary according to the intention or custom of a user or operator. Therefore, definitions of these terms will have to be made based on the content throughout this specification.

The present invention enables automatic trunk opening control of a vehicle by using at least one sensor installed in the vehicle and a radar-type kick sensor. (or foot gesture, tapping, sweeping, etc.) to simultaneously determine the user's recognition (that is, recognition or authentication of a registered user) and the user's intention to open the trunk, and automatically perform trunk (or tailgate) opening control. It is to enable (see FIG. 4).

In addition, in the case of the conventional capacitive kick sensor used to detect kick input, the product size is large, so the degree of freedom is reduced when installing the product. There is the inconvenience of having to lift the feet a lot from the ground by setting it at 10 to 15 cm from the surface, and in some cases, there is a problem of losing the center of gravity and falling (see FIG. 5), in order to improve this in the present invention, the radar type By recognizing a kick gesture (or foot gesture, tapping) registered in advance by a user using a kick sensor, the user can stably and comfortably input the kick gesture, thereby automatically performing trunk opening control ( see Figure 5).

1 is an exemplary view showing a schematic configuration of an apparatus for controlling the opening of a trunk and a tailgate according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the trunk and tailgate opening control device according to the present embodiment includes a vehicle sensor unit 110, a radar type kick sensor unit 120, a control unit 130, an actuator driving unit 140, and a storage unit 150 .

The vehicle sensor unit 110 includes at least one sensor attached to the vehicle and detecting an object approaching the vehicle.

For example, the vehicle sensor unit 110 includes a camera sensor, an ultrasonic sensor attached to a bumper, and a wireless sensor that senses a smart key in a wireless manner.

The vehicle sensor unit 110 may recognize (sense) a smart key approaching the vehicle, detect an object approaching the vehicle, and recognize a face of the object approaching the vehicle.

The radar type kick sensor unit 120 includes a radar type kick sensor mounted on the rear of the vehicle (eg, a bumper) and recognizing a kick gesture (including tapping) of an object (user).

For reference, FIG. 5 is an exemplary view shown in FIG. 1 to compare the characteristics of the radar type kick sensor with the characteristics of the conventional electrostatic kick sensor. In the case of the conventional electrostatic kick sensor, the product size is large, In order to prevent malfunctions, two kick sensors with different detection characteristics are used, and the detection area is set to 10 to 15 cm from the bumper surface to avoid the inconvenience of having to lift the feet a lot from the ground, and in some cases There was a problem where you could lose your center of gravity and fall.

However, in this embodiment, a kick gesture (or foot gesture, tapping, sweeping, etc.) registered in advance by a user is recognized by using a radar-type kick sensor, so that the user can stably and comfortably input the kick gesture.

The control unit 130 performs a user and kick gesture (or foot gesture, tapping, sweeping) for controlling the opening of the trunk (or tailgate) of the vehicle through the vehicle sensor unit 110 and the radar type kick sensor unit 120. etc.) is pre-registered and stored, and when a pre-registered user inputs a pre-registered kick gesture (or foot gesture, tapping, sweeping, etc.) from the rear of the vehicle, the trunk (or tailgate) opening of the vehicle is controlled. do.

In addition, although not shown in the drawing, the control unit 130, when registering a kick gesture (or foot gesture, tapping, sweeping, etc.) with the user, alarms (eg, sound alarms, lights (eg, direction indicators, rear lamps)) etc) alarm) can be output.

In this case, the user and the kick gesture (or foot gesture, tapping, sweeping, etc.) may be registered in plurality, where the user and the kick gesture do not necessarily have to be matched 1:1, and the trunk (or tailgate) of the vehicle Information input for opening (that is, user and kick gesture (or foot gesture, tapping, sweeping, etc.)) may be different. For example, the control unit 130 authenticates a kick gesture (or foot gesture, tapping, sweeping, etc.) registered by a first user (eg, a husband with a smart key) even if the second user (eg, does not possess a smart key). It is possible to control the opening of the trunk (or tailgate) of the vehicle even if the wife) inputs it.

For reference, when registering a plurality of kick gestures (or foot gestures, tapping, switching, etc.), economic costs may increase, so the number of kick gestures that can be registered may be limited, and the kick gesture is the default in the product manufacturing stage. may be registered as

In addition, when the object approaching the vehicle is a user possessing a smart key, that is, even if the user is not a pre-registered user (ie, even if the user's face is not recognized), the controller 130 performs a kick gesture (or foot gesture, tapping) , sweeping, etc.) can be used to control the opening of the trunk (or tailgate) of the vehicle.

The actuator driving unit 140 controls components related to opening the trunk (or tailgate) of the vehicle (eg, a lock device, a motor, a hydraulic device, etc.) under the control of the control unit 130. .

The storage unit 150 stores a plurality of user information (eg, face) and a plurality of kick gestures (or foot gestures, tapping, sweeping, etc.) registered to control the opening of the trunk (or tailgate) of the vehicle. .

A method of controlling the opening of the trunk (or tailgate) of the vehicle by the control unit 130 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 .

2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of registering information for controlling the opening of a trunk and a tailgate according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2 , in case of a kick gesture (or foot gesture, tapping, sweeping, etc.) setting mode for controlling the opening of the trunk (or tailgate) of the vehicle (Yes in S101), the controller 130 controls the vehicle sensor unit ( 110), distance setting and face registration for user recognition are performed (S102).

For example, the user may enter a kick gesture (or foot gesture, tapping, sweeping, etc.) setting mode through a smart key (not shown) or button input of a menu (not shown) provided inside the vehicle.

At this time, when the kick gesture (or foot gesture, tapping, sweeping, etc.) setting mode for controlling the opening of the trunk (or tailgate) of the vehicle is entered as described above, the control unit 130 sends a designated alarm (eg, sound alarm). , lights (eg turn signals, rear lamps, alarms) can be output.

For example, in the kick gesture (or foot gesture, tapping, sweeping, etc.) setting mode, when the user approaches the vehicle from a long distance from the rear of the vehicle, the controller 130 sends an alarm to a distance where the user's face can be recognized. Approaching is notified, and by photographing the user's face and registering feature information for face recognition, the user's face can be recognized within this distance.

When the distance setting and user registration (ie, user's face registration) are completed within a specified time (Yes in S103), the controller 130 registers the user's kick gesture (or foot gesture, tapping, sweeping, etc.) (S104).

For reference, FIG. 4 is an exemplary diagram shown to explain an example of a kick gesture in FIG. 2. The kick gesture is a foot gesture, and includes a kicking operation (see (a) in FIG. 4) and a tapping operation. (See FIG. 4(b)) and sweeping operation (see FIG. 4(c)). In addition, the kick gesture is a concept that includes a large range of motion or a relatively small range of motion regardless of the size of the foot motion (ie, the range of foot motion).

At this time, the control unit 130 notifies the user of the registration status of a kick gesture (or foot gesture, tapping, sweeping, etc.) through a designated alarm (eg, sound alarm, light (eg, turn signal, rear lamp, etc.) alarm) output can give

When the registration of the kick gesture (or foot gesture, tapping, sweeping, etc.) is completed within a designated time (Yes in S105), the controller 130 controls the registered distance information and user information and the kick gesture (or foot gesture, tapping) , sweeping, etc.) information is stored in the storage unit 150 (S106).

In this case, a plurality of user information and kick gesture (or foot gesture, tapping, sweeping, etc.) information may be stored.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of performing trunk opening control based on pre-registered information and information detected using a radar type kick sensor in FIG. 2 .

Referring to FIG. 3 , when the vehicle is in a stopped state and an object approaching the rear of the vehicle is detected (Yes in S201 ), the controller 130 determines the number of objects approaching the rear of the vehicle. When the distance is detected and approached within a predetermined distance, the face is detected (recognized) (S202).

At this time, the controller 130 may inform the user that the face has been detected (recognized) through a designated alarm (eg, sound alarm, light (eg, direction indicator light, rear lamp, etc.) alarm) output.

Accordingly, the user performs a predetermined kick gesture (or foot gesture, tapping, sweeping, etc.).

When the face of an object approaching within the predetermined distance is detected, the controller 130 checks whether the face-detected object is a pre-registered user (S203).

If the object is one of pre-registered users (yes in S203) (that is, if the user is authenticated), the controller 130 performs a kick gesture (or foot gesture, tapping, sweeping, etc.) performed by the user. Detect (S204).

In addition, if the detected kick gesture (or foot gesture, tapping, sweeping, etc.) is one of pre-registered kick gestures (or foot gesture, tapping, sweeping, etc.) (Yes in S205), the control unit 130 detects the vehicle Controls the opening of the trunk (tailgate) of (S206).

As described above, in the present embodiment, when the user (e.g., the driver with the smart key) and the person who loads the luggage are different, for example, when the person with the smart key and the person who loads the luggage are different, even the user without the smart key If the user is pre-registered, the trunk opening can be automatically controlled by performing a designated kick gesture (or foot gesture, tapping, sweeping, etc.).

As described above, the present embodiment uses at least one sensor installed in the vehicle and a radar-type kick sensor even when the user who wants to load the trunk of the vehicle does not have a smart key, and uses a different method (e.g., face recognition). By recognizing (authenticating) the user and controlling the opening of the trunk, the user's convenience is further improved.

The present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, but this is only exemplary, and those skilled in the art can make various modifications and equivalent other embodiments. you will understand the point. Therefore, the technical protection scope of the present invention should be determined by the claims below. Implementations described herein may also be embodied in, for example, a method or process, an apparatus, a software program, a data stream, or a signal. Even if discussed only in the context of a single form of implementation (eg, discussed only as a method), the implementation of features discussed may also be implemented in other forms (eg, an apparatus or program). The device may be implemented in suitable hardware, software and firmware. The method may be implemented in an apparatus such as a processor, which is generally referred to as a processing device including, for example, a computer, microprocessor, integrated circuit or programmable logic device or the like. Processors also include communication devices such as computers, cell phones, personal digital assistants ("PDAs") and other devices that facilitate communication of information between end-users.

110: vehicle sensor unit 120; Radar type kick sensor part
130: control unit 140: actuator driving unit
150: storage unit

Claims (10)

a vehicle sensor unit that detects an object approaching from the rear of the vehicle and recognizes whether the object is an authorized user;
a radar-type kick sensor unit recognizing a kick gesture performed by the object at the rear of the vehicle using a radar-type kick sensor; and
A controller for pre-registering and storing information for user authentication and a kick gesture, and controlling opening of the trunk or tailgate of the vehicle when the authenticated user performs a pre-registered kick gesture from the rear of the vehicle;
The control unit,
In order to pre-register the user's face and kick gesture for authentication,
In the kick gesture setting mode, when the feature information for recognizing a user's face is registered within a specified time at a face recognizable distance from the rear of the vehicle, the user's kick gesture is registered,
The control unit,
Registering a plurality of the user and kick gesture;
If the second user who does not possess the smart key is a pre-registered user,
Even if a second user who does not possess the smart key inputs a kick gesture registered by the first user who possesses the smart key, the trunk or tailgate opening control of the vehicle is controlled. kick gesture registration device for
The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle sensor unit,
A kick gesture registration device for controlling opening of a trunk and a tailgate, comprising at least one of a camera sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, and a wireless sensor.
The method of claim 1, wherein the control unit,
When registering the user's face and kick gesture, or recognizing the user's face or kick gesture of an object approaching the rear of the vehicle,
A kick gesture registration device for controlling the opening of a trunk and a tailgate, characterized in that it outputs a sound alarm or a light alarm.
The method of claim 1, wherein the control unit,
If the object approaching the vehicle is a user with a smart key,
A kick gesture registration device for controlling the opening of a trunk and tailgate, characterized in that the opening of a trunk or tailgate of a vehicle is controlled by checking only the kick gesture even when the user's face is not recognized.
According to claim 1,
An actuator driving unit that drives at least one of a locking device, a motor, and a hydraulic device, which are components related to opening a trunk or tailgate of a vehicle, according to the control of the control unit; further comprising a trunk and a tailgate A kick gesture registration device for opening control.
When an object approaching from the rear of the vehicle is detected while the vehicle is stopped, the controller detects a distance of the object approaching from the rear of the vehicle and recognizes a face when approaching within a predetermined distance;
When a face of an object approaching within the predetermined distance is detected, checking, by the controller, whether the face-detected object is a pre-registered user;
detecting, by the controller, a kick gesture performed by the user when the object is one of pre-registered users; and
When the detected kick gesture is one of pre-registered kick gestures, controlling, by the controller, opening the trunk or tailgate of the vehicle;
The control unit,
In order to pre-register the user's face and kick gesture for authentication,
In the kick gesture setting mode, when the feature information for recognizing the user's face is registered within a specified time at a face recognition distance from the rear of the vehicle, the user's kick gesture is registered,
The control unit,
Registering a plurality of the user and kick gesture;
If the second user who does not possess the smart key is a pre-registered user,
Even if a second user who does not possess the smart key inputs a kick gesture registered by the first user who possesses the smart key, the trunk or tailgate opening control of the vehicle is controlled. How to register a kick gesture for
According to claim 6,
In the step of recognizing a face when approaching within the predetermined distance,
The control unit,
A kick gesture registration method for controlling the opening of a trunk and a tailgate, characterized in that notifying a user that a face has been recognized through an output of a sound alarm or a light alarm.
delete The method of claim 6, wherein the kick gesture setting mode,
The kick gesture registration method for controlling the opening of the trunk and the tailgate, characterized in that the control unit enters a kick gesture setting mode when a user's smart key or a menu provided inside the vehicle is input. delete

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