Patents by Inventor Axel Gern

Axel Gern has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 7586402
    Abstract: The opening of vehicle doors often leads to collisions with stationary obstacles that are not visible to the occupants or with moving obstacles that approach the vehicle without being noticed. Thus to avoid collisions when vehicle doors are opened, the aim of the invention is to take any modifications to the environmental situation of the vehicle as a result of a movement of the vehicle and the detected objects into consideration. This allows a collision of the vehicle doors with the objects to be reliably avoided. To achieve this, in a first step the probable trajectory of a vehicle is determined. In an additional step, the objects in the vicinity of the vehicle are detected and probable trajectories of said detected objects are determined. Respective probability ranges are then defined both for the vehicle and the pivoting zone of the vehicle doors and for the detected objects.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2009
    Assignee: Daimler AG
    Inventors: Edgar Bihler, Ingo Dudeck, Uwe Franke, Axel Gern, Reinhard Janssen, Carsten Knoeppel, Frank-Werner Mohn, Rainer Moebus, Volker Oltmann, Uwe Regensburger, Helmut Schittenhelm, Reinhold Schoeb, Avshalom Suissa, Bernd Woltermann, Zoltan Zomotor
  • Patent number: 7424364
    Abstract: A method and device for warning a driver of lane departure, wherein a first analyzer is used to detect the vehicle's lane departure based on image data and/or vehicle data and/or driver activity. The driver then receives a warning as a function of the detection by the first analyzer. In addition, a second analyzer for evaluating the driving situation is provided, which either performs the evaluation of the driving situation after the detection and via which the warning is suppressed as a function of the evaluation, or which alternatively performs an evaluation of the driving situation before the detection and via which a detection of lane departure is suppressed as a function of the evaluation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2008
    Assignee: Daimler AG
    Inventors: Axel Gern, Rainer Moebus, Volker Oltmann, Bernd Woltermann, Zoltan Zomotor
  • Patent number: 7411486
    Abstract: A driver assistance device for warning a driver of a motor vehicle of a risk of departure from the lane or from the lane is described, having at least one image-transmitting sensor, an evaluation device, connected to the image-transmitting sensor, for detecting edge-of-lane and/or lane markings and/or edges of lanes in the area sensed by the image-transmitting sensor, and a warning device which is connected to the evaluation device, in which driver assistance device in addition at least one distance-transmitting sensor is connected to the evaluation device, with which sensor the distance from objects which are elevated with respect to the surface of the lane can be determined in the region of the edge of the lane, in particular of a structural boundary of the edge of the lane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2008
    Assignee: Daimler AG
    Inventors: Axel Gern, Alfred Lotter, Rainer Moebus, Volker Oltmann, Bernd Woltermann, Zoltan Zomotor
  • Publication number: 20070256885
    Abstract: A steering system (1) of a vehicle, having a steering wheel (2) which is connected mechanically to the steerable vehicle wheels (11) via a steering column (3). A superimposition actuator (26) which can be actuated independently of the driver by a control device (25) is provided for generating a superimposition variable (U). A superimposition device (6) superimposes a steering wheel variable (?H) which describes the steering actuation of the steering wheel (2) and the superimposition variable (U) to form an output variable. A steering actuator (19) sets a steering angle (?L) at the steerable vehicle wheels (20) as a function of the output variable. An actuating device (27) is provided which is actuated by the control device (25) in order to generate an actuating device torque (MS) which acts on the steering column.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 14, 2005
    Publication date: November 8, 2007
    Applicant: DaimlerChrysler AG
    Inventors: Dieter Ammon, Ingo Dudeck, Axel Gern, Rainer Moebus, Volker Oltmann, Reinhold Schoeb, Bernd Woltermann, Zoltan Zomotor
  • Publication number: 20070188312
    Abstract: The opening of vehicle doors often leads to collisions with stationary obstacles that are not visible to the occupants or with moving obstacles that approach the vehicle without being noticed. Thus to avoid collisions when vehicle doors are opened, the aim of the invention is to take any modifications to the environmental situation of the vehicle as a result of a movement of the vehicle and the detected objects into consideration. This allows a collision of the vehicle doors with the objects to be reliably avoided. To achieve this, in a first step the portable trajectory of a vehicle is determnined. In an additional step, the objects in the vicinity of the vehicle are detected and probable trajectories of said detected objects are determined. Respective probability ranges are then defined both for the vehicle and the pivoting zone of the vehicle doors and for the detected objects.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 21, 2005
    Publication date: August 16, 2007
    Inventors: Edgar Bihler, Ingo Dudeck, Uwe Franke, Axel Gern, Reinhard Janssen, Carsten Knoeppel, Frank-Werner Mohn, Rainer Moebus, Volker Oltmann, Uwe Regensburger, Helmut Schittenhelm, Reinhold Schoeb, Avshalom Suissa, Bernd Woltermann, Zoltan Zomotor
  • Publication number: 20070147660
    Abstract: An image processing system for a motor vehicle, includes a camera system, an image processing module having a data interface for receiving image data produced by the camera system, a memory unit for storing an image processing program, an image processor unit for processing the image data, a display unit for displaying the processed image data, and a miniature computer. At least one of the image processor unit and the display unit are disposed in the miniature computer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 20, 2004
    Publication date: June 28, 2007
    Applicant: Daimier Chrysler AG
    Inventors: Emrullah Durucan, Uwe Franke, Axel Gern, Stefan Hahn, Carsten Knoeppel, Michael Smuda Von Trzebiatowski
  • Publication number: 20060132295
    Abstract: A driver assistance device for warning a driver of a motor vehicle of a risk of departure from the lane or from the lane is described, having at least one image-transmitting sensor, an evaluation device, connected to the image-transmitting sensor, for detecting edge-of-lane and/or lane markings and/or edges of lanes in the area sensed by the image-transmitting sensor, and a warning device which is connected to the evaluation device, in which driver assistance device in addition at least one distance-transmitting sensor is connected to the evaluation device, with which sensor the distance from objects which are elevated with respect to the surface of the lane can be determined in the region of the edge of the lane, in particular of a structural boundary of the edge of the lane.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 28, 2005
    Publication date: June 22, 2006
    Inventors: Axel Gern, Alfred Lotter, Rainer Moebus, Volker Oltmann, Bernd Woltermann, Zoltan Zomotor
  • Publication number: 20050278112
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for estimating the course of a lane of a motor vehicle, where the course of the lane is detected by detecting the trajectory of a vehicle traveling in front in the lane, where the detected course of the trajectory subjected to filtering in order to obtain the actual course of the trajectory, where the course of the trajectory is evaluated by means of at least two different filters, where movements of the vehicle in the lateral direction in the lane are filtered on the basis of the output of a filter, and where movements of the vehicle which correspond to a lane change are detected on the basis of the output of a further filter.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 14, 2005
    Publication date: December 15, 2005
    Inventors: Axel Gern, Uwe Franke, Carsten Knoeppel
  • Publication number: 20050273264
    Abstract: A method and device for warning a driver of lane departure, wherein a first analyzer is used to detect the vehicle's lane departure based on image data and/or vehicle data and/or driver activity. The driver then receives a warning as a function of the detection by the first analyzer. In addition, a second analyzer for evaluating the driving situation is provided, which either performs the evaluation of the driving situation after the detection and via which the warning is suppressed as a function of the evaluation, or which alternatively performs an evaluation of the driving situation before the detection and via which a detection of lane departure is suppressed as a function of the evaluation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 31, 2005
    Publication date: December 8, 2005
    Applicant: DaimlerChrysler AG
    Inventors: Axel Gern, Rainer Moebus, Volker Oltmann, Bernd Woltermann, Zoltan Zomotor