Automatic platooning control device and method for electric vehicles

Abstract

The present invention relates to an automatic platooning control device and method for an electric vehicle. The device includes: a communication unit configured to communicate with multiple automatically platooning vehicles; an index allocation unit configured to allocate indexes to the multiple automatically platooning vehicles; a driving arrangement order determination unit configured to obtain battery information from the automatically platooning vehicles allocated with indexes through the communication unit, and determine the driving arrangement order of the automatically platooning vehicles allocated with indexes based on the obtained battery information; and a controller configured to rearrange the multiple automatically platooning vehicles based on the determined driving arrangement order.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an automatic platooning control device for an electric vehicle, and more particularly, to an automatic platooning control device and method for an electric vehicle that maximizes the driving distance of electric vehicles in automatic platooning. Background Art

[0002] The statements in this section merely provide background information regarding the present invention and do not constitute prior art.

[0003] Generally speaking, in future vehicle technologies, it is expected that increasing the driving distance of electric vehicles (EVs) and developing autonomous driving technologies are important parts.

[0004] Hardware / software technologies for increasing the driving distance of electric vehicles (EVs) are being developed, and the future popularization of electric vehicles will be further expanded.

[0005] Vehicle original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and IT companies are also developing autonomous driving technologies and plan to launch fully autonomous driving technologies on the market in the 2020s.

[0006] Thus, through the development of autonomous driving technologies and the introduction of fully autonomous driving technologies, automatic platooning control for simultaneously controlling two or more vehicles can be achieved.

[0007] However, when appropriate platooning control technologies for platooning vehicles are not applied, there is a problem that since the leading vehicle located at the frontmost position in the platoon encounters the greatest air resistance, the battery of the leading vehicle is consumed fastest among all the vehicles, and even if other vehicles can travel farther, the driving distance of the entire platoon is reduced due to the leading vehicle.

[0008] Therefore, in the future, it is desired to develop a device for controlling automatic platooning that improves the driving distance of the entire platoon of electric vehicles in automatic platooning. Summary of the Invention

[0009] The present invention provides an automatic platooning control device and method for an electric vehicle.

[0010] One aspect of the present invention aims to provide an automatic platooning control device and method for an electric vehicle that obtains battery information and vehicle information from platooning vehicles, determines a driving arrangement order based on the obtained information, and rearranges the platooning vehicles according to the determined driving arrangement order, thereby maximizing the driving distance of the entire platoon.

[0011] According to some embodiments of the present invention, an automatic platooning control device for an electric vehicle includes: a communication unit configured to communicate with multiple automatically platooning vehicles; an index assignment unit configured to assign respective indexes to the automatically platooning vehicles; a travel arrangement order determination unit configured to obtain battery information from the vehicles assigned with indexes through the communication unit and determine the travel arrangement order of the automatically platooning vehicles based on the obtained battery information; and a controller configured to control the vehicles through the communication unit according to the determined travel arrangement order to rearrange the automatically platooning vehicles.

[0012] According to some embodiments of the present invention, a method for controlling automatic platooning of an automatic platooning control device for an electric vehicle, which includes an index assignment unit, a travel arrangement order determination unit, and a controller, includes: when receiving an automatic platooning control request signal, assigning respective indexes to the automatically platooning vehicles through the index assignment unit; obtaining battery information from the vehicles assigned with indexes; determining the travel arrangement order of the automatically platooning vehicles based on the obtained battery information through the travel arrangement order determination unit; and controlling the vehicles through the controller to rearrange the automatically platooning vehicles according to the determined travel arrangement order.

[0013] According to some embodiments of the present invention, a method for controlling automatic platooning of an automatic platooning control device for an electric vehicle, which includes an index assignment unit, a travel arrangement order determination unit, and a controller, includes: when receiving an automatic platooning control request signal, assigning respective indexes to the automatically platooning vehicles through the index assignment unit; obtaining battery information from the vehicles assigned with indexes through the travel arrangement order determination unit and calculating respective state of charge (SoC) values of the automatically platooning vehicles based on the obtained battery information; calculating a difference between a first battery SoC value of a following vehicle having the maximum battery SoC value and a second battery SoC value of a leading vehicle among the automatically platooning vehicles through the travel arrangement order determination unit; checking whether the calculated difference is greater than a threshold through the travel arrangement order determination unit; when the calculated difference is greater than the threshold, determining the travel arrangement order through the travel arrangement order determination unit to arrange the following vehicle having the maximum battery SoC value at the foremost position of the automatically platooning vehicles, and controlling the vehicles through the controller to rearrange the automatically platooning vehicles according to the determined travel arrangement order.

[0014] According to some embodiments of the present invention, a method for controlling platooning of an automatic platooning control device of an electric vehicle including an index allocation unit, a traveling arrangement order determination unit, and a controller includes: when receiving an automatic platooning control request signal, allocating respective indexes to the automatic platooning vehicles through the index allocation unit; obtaining battery information from the vehicles allocated with indexes through the traveling arrangement order determination unit, and calculating respective battery energy levels of the automatic platooning vehicles based on the obtained battery information; calculating, by the traveling arrangement order determination unit, a difference between a first battery energy level of a following vehicle with the maximum battery energy level among the automatic platooning vehicles and a second battery energy level of a leading vehicle; checking, by the traveling arrangement order determination unit, whether the calculated difference is greater than a threshold; when the calculated difference is greater than the threshold, determining, by the traveling arrangement order determination unit, a traveling arrangement order to arrange the following vehicle with the maximum battery energy level at the foremost position of the automatic platooning vehicles, and controlling the vehicles through the controller to rearrange the automatic platooning vehicles according to the determined traveling arrangement order.

[0015] According to some embodiments of the present invention, a method for controlling platooning of an automatic platooning control device of an electric vehicle including an index allocation unit, a traveling arrangement order determination unit, and a controller includes: when receiving an automatic platooning control request signal, allocating respective indexes to the automatic platooning vehicles through the index allocation unit; obtaining battery information and vehicle information from the vehicles allocated with indexes through the traveling arrangement order determination unit, and estimating respective traveling distances of the automatic platooning vehicles based on the obtained battery information and vehicle information; calculating, by the traveling arrangement order determination unit, a difference between a first traveling distance of a following vehicle with the maximum traveling distance among the automatic platooning vehicles and a second traveling distance of a leading vehicle; checking, by the traveling arrangement order determination unit, whether the calculated difference is greater than a threshold; when the calculated difference is greater than the threshold, determining, by the traveling arrangement order determination unit, a traveling arrangement order to arrange the following vehicle with the maximum traveling distance at the foremost position of the automatic platooning vehicles, and controlling the vehicles through the controller to rearrange the automatic platooning vehicles according to the determined traveling arrangement order.

[0016] According to some embodiments of the present invention, a method for controlling platooning of an electric vehicle automatic platooning control device including an index allocation unit, a driving arrangement order determination unit, and a controller includes: when receiving an automatic platooning control request signal, allocating respective indexes to the automatic platooning vehicles through the index allocation unit; obtaining battery information and vehicle information from the vehicles allocated with indexes through the driving arrangement order determination unit, and estimating respective driving distances of the automatic platooning vehicles based on the obtained battery information and vehicle information; calculating the number of arrangements of the platooning vehicles based on the estimated driving distances through the driving arrangement order determination unit; determining the minimum driving distance in each arrangement of the platooning vehicles through the driving arrangement order determination unit; selecting, by the driving arrangement order determination unit, the case with the longest minimum driving distance among the cases with the determined minimum driving distances as the new case; checking, by the driving arrangement order determination unit, whether the difference between the maximum driving distance in the new case and the maximum driving distance in the current case is greater than a threshold value; when the difference is greater than the threshold value, determining, by the driving arrangement order determination unit, the driving arrangement order according to the arrangement of the platooning vehicles corresponding to the new case, and controlling the vehicles through the controller to rearrange the automatic platooning vehicles according to the determined driving arrangement order.

[0017] According to some embodiments of the present invention, a computer-readable recording medium having a program recorded thereon can execute the processes provided by the automatic platooning control method, and the program is for executing the method for controlling platooning of an electric vehicle automatic platooning control device.

[0018] According to some embodiments of the present invention, a server for controlling platooning includes: a database and an automatic platooning control device; the database is configured to store battery information and vehicle information of multiple automatic platooning vehicles; the automatic platooning control device is configured to determine the driving arrangement order of the automatic platooning vehicles based on the battery information and vehicle information, and control the vehicles to rearrange the automatic platooning vehicles according to the determined driving arrangement order; wherein, the automatic platooning control device includes: a communication unit configured to communicate with multiple automatic platooning vehicles; an index allocation unit configured to allocate respective indexes to the automatic platooning vehicles; a driving arrangement order determination unit configured to obtain battery information from the vehicles allocated with indexes through the communication unit, and determine the driving arrangement order of the automatic platooning vehicles based on the obtained battery information; and a controller configured to control the vehicles through the communication unit to rearrange the automatic platooning vehicles according to the determined driving arrangement order.

[0019] According to some embodiments of the present invention, an electric vehicle includes a storage device and an automatic platooning control device; the storage device is configured to store battery information and vehicle information of multiple automatic platooning vehicles; the automatic platooning control device is configured to determine the driving arrangement order of the automatic platooning vehicles based on the battery information and the vehicle information, and control the vehicles to rearrange the automatic platooning vehicles according to the determined driving arrangement order; wherein, the automatic platooning control device includes: a communication unit configured to communicate with multiple automatic platooning vehicles; an index allocation unit configured to allocate respective indexes to the automatic platooning vehicles; a driving arrangement order determination unit configured to obtain the battery information from the vehicles allocated with indexes through the communication unit, and determine the driving arrangement order of the automatic platooning vehicles based on the obtained battery information; and a controller configured to control the vehicles through the communication unit to rearrange the automatic platooning vehicles according to the determined driving arrangement order.

[0020] With the description provided herein, other application areas will become apparent. It should be understood that this specification and the specific examples are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] To better understand the present invention, various embodiments of the present invention given by way of example will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0022] Figure 1 is a conceptual schematic diagram for illustrating an automatic platooning control device of an electric vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 is a block diagram for illustrating an automatic platooning control device of an electric vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram for illustrating a server for controlling automatic platooning including an automatic platooning control device of an electric vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram for illustrating an electric vehicle including an automatic platooning control device of an electric vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 5 is a flowchart for illustrating a method for controlling automatic platooning according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 6 For illustration Figure 5Schematic diagram of the vehicle rearrangement process of the method for controlling platooning

[0028] Figure 7 Flowchart for explaining the method for controlling platooning according to an embodiment of the present invention

[0029] Figure 8 For explaining Figure 7 Schematic diagram of the vehicle rearrangement process of the method for controlling platooning

[0030] Figure 9 Flowchart for explaining the method for controlling platooning according to an embodiment of the present invention

[0031] Figure 10 For explaining Figure 9 Schematic diagram of the vehicle rearrangement process of the method for controlling platooning

[0032] Figure 11 Flowchart for explaining the method for controlling platooning according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

[0033] Figures 12 to 16 For explaining Figure 11 Schematic diagram of the vehicle rearrangement process of the method for controlling platooning

[0034] The drawings shown herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention in any way. Detailed Description

[0035] The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present invention, its application, or uses. It should be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals represent the same or corresponding components and features.

[0036] Throughout the specification, those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the terms "including," "comprising," and "having" are defaulted to be understood as inclusive or open-ended, rather than exclusive or closed, unless there is a contrary explicit definition. In addition, terms such as "unit," "module," etc. disclosed in the specification generally represent units for processing at least one function or operation, which can be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of both.

[0037] Throughout the specification, when a component "includes" a certain component, this means that the component can further include another component rather than excluding another component, unless otherwise differently disclosed. The same reference numerals will be used throughout the drawings to represent the same components.

[0038] Hereinafter, reference will be made to Figures 1 to 16Describe in detail an automatic platooning control device and method for an electric vehicle according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0039] Figure 1 It is a conceptual schematic diagram for explaining an automatic platooning control device of an electric vehicle according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0040] As Figure 1 shown, the present invention relates to a method for maximizing the driving distance of an entire vehicle platoon when introducing fully autonomous driving technology and V2V communication to achieve platooning control of electric vehicles (EVs).

[0041] If a suitable platooning control technology is not applied during the automatic platooning of electric vehicles, the leading vehicle 10 at the frontmost position of this vehicle platoon may encounter the greatest air resistance. Therefore, the battery 12 of the leading vehicle may be consumed fastest among all vehicles.

[0042] Consequently, even though the following vehicles 20, 30, and 40 other than the leading vehicle 10 can travel farther, the driving distance of the entire vehicle platoon will be reduced due to the leading vehicle 10.

[0043] The present invention generally proposes four platooning control methods.

[0044] The first control method is a strategic method for balancing the state of charge (SoC) of the batteries between vehicles, the second control method is a strategic method for balancing the battery energy between vehicles, the third control method is a strategic method for increasing the platooning distance, and the fourth control method is a strategic method for maximizing the platooning distance.

[0045] That is to say, in order to maximize the driving distance, the first method, the second method, and the third method are methods for exchanging the position of the leading vehicle with one of the following vehicles, while the fourth method is a method for changing the positions of all vehicles.

[0046] Figure 2 It is a block diagram for explaining an automatic platooning control device of an electric vehicle according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0047] As Figure 2As shown, the automatic platooning control device 100 of an electric vehicle according to some embodiments of the present invention may include a communication unit 110, an index assignment unit 120, a driving arrangement order determination unit 130, and a controller 140; the communication unit 110 is configured to communicate with multiple automatically platooning vehicles; the index assignment unit 120 is configured to assign an index to each automatically platooning vehicle; the driving arrangement order determination unit 130 is configured to obtain battery information from the vehicles assigned with an index through the communication unit 110, and determine the driving arrangement order of the automatically platooning vehicles based on the obtained battery information; the controller 140 is configured to control the vehicle through the communication unit 110 to rearrange the automatically platooning vehicles according to the determined driving arrangement order.

[0048] Here, when assigning an index to each vehicle, the index assignment unit 120 may identify the total number of all automatically platooning vehicles, and may assign an index to each vehicle and each position among all the identified vehicles.

[0049] For example, when assigning an index, the index assignment unit 120 may assign a first index to each vehicle among all the automatically platooning vehicles, and may assign a second index corresponding to the position to each vehicle assigned with the first index.

[0050] When obtaining battery information from the vehicles assigned with an index, the driving arrangement order determination unit 130 may obtain battery information including at least one of battery SoC information or battery energy amplitude information.

[0051] When obtaining battery information from the vehicles assigned with an index, the driving arrangement order determination unit 130 may further obtain vehicle information.

[0052] That is to say, when further obtaining the vehicle information of the vehicles assigned with an index, the driving arrangement order determination unit 130 may check whether the obtained battery information includes battery energy magnitude information, and when the obtained battery information includes battery energy magnitude information, the driving arrangement order determination unit 130 may further obtain vehicle information.

[0053] For example, the vehicle information may include at least one of the following information: the battery capacity, battery degradation degree, and battery SoC of the vehicle assigned with an index, the weight, air resistance, gradient, or resistance of the vehicle assigned with an index, but is not limited thereto.

[0054] Then, when determining the driving arrangement order of the platooning vehicles, the driving arrangement order determination unit 130 may calculate the respective battery SoC values of the platooning vehicles based on the acquired battery information, and may determine the driving arrangement order to arrange the vehicle with the maximum battery SoC value at the foremost position in the platoon of the platooning vehicles.

[0055] The driving arrangement order determination unit 130 may calculate the difference between the first battery SoC value of the following vehicle with the maximum battery SoC value among the platooning vehicles and the second battery SoC value of the leading vehicle, and may check whether the calculated difference is greater than the threshold. When the calculated difference is greater than the threshold, the driving arrangement order determination unit 130 may determine the driving arrangement order to arrange the following vehicle with the maximum battery SoC at the foremost position in the platoon.

[0056] Here, when the driving arrangement order determination unit 130 determines the driving arrangement order, if the following vehicle with the maximum battery SoC value is arranged at the foremost position in the platoon, then the driving arrangement order determination unit 130 may determine the driving arrangement order to arrange the original leading vehicle adjacent to and immediately behind the following vehicle with the maximum battery SoC value.

[0057] When the driving arrangement order determination unit 130 determines the driving arrangement order, if the following vehicle with the maximum battery SoC value is arranged at the foremost position in the platoon, then the driving arrangement order determination unit 130 may determine the driving arrangement order so as to change the arrangement order of at least one following vehicle arranged behind the leading vehicle and in front of the following vehicle with the maximum battery SoC value according to the original driving arrangement order.

[0058] When the driving arrangement order determination unit 130 determines the driving arrangement order, if the following vehicle with the maximum battery SoC value is arranged at the foremost position in the platoon, then the driving arrangement order determination unit 130 may determine the driving arrangement order so as to keep the arrangement order of at least one following vehicle arranged behind the following vehicle with the maximum battery SoC value unchanged.

[0059] According to this situation, when determining the driving arrangement order of the platooning vehicles, the driving arrangement order determination unit 130 may calculate the respective battery energy levels of the platooning vehicles based on the acquired battery information, and may also determine the driving arrangement order to arrange the vehicle with the maximum battery energy level among the platooning vehicles at the foremost position in the platoon.

[0060] The driving arrangement determining unit 130 may calculate the difference between the first battery energy level of the following vehicle with the largest battery energy level among the vehicles driving in an automatic queue and the second battery energy level of the leading vehicle, and may check whether the calculated difference is greater than a threshold value. When the calculated difference is greater than the threshold value, the driving arrangement determining unit 130 may determine the driving arrangement to arrange the following vehicle with the largest battery energy level at the foremost position in the vehicle platoon.

[0061] Here, when the driving arrangement determining unit 130 determines the driving arrangement, if the following vehicle with the largest battery energy level is arranged at the foremost position in the vehicle platoon, then the driving arrangement determining unit 130 may determine the driving arrangement to arrange the original leading vehicle adjacent to and immediately behind the following vehicle with the largest battery energy level.

[0062] When the driving arrangement determining unit 130 determines the driving arrangement, if the following vehicle with the largest battery energy level is arranged at the foremost position in the vehicle platoon, then the driving arrangement determining unit 130 may determine the driving arrangement to change the arrangement order of at least one following vehicle arranged between behind the leading vehicle and in front of the following vehicle with the largest battery energy level according to the original driving arrangement.

[0063] When the driving arrangement determining unit 130 determines the driving arrangement, if the following vehicle with the largest battery energy level is arranged at the foremost position in the vehicle platoon, then the driving arrangement determining unit 130 may determine the driving arrangement to keep the arrangement order of at least one following vehicle arranged behind the following vehicle with the largest battery energy level according to the original driving arrangement unchanged.

[0064] In another case, when determining the driving arrangement of the vehicles driving in an automatic queue, the driving arrangement determining unit 130 may estimate the respective driving distances of the vehicles driving in an automatic queue based on the acquired battery information and vehicle information, and may determine the driving arrangement to arrange the vehicle with the largest driving distance among the vehicles driving in an automatic queue at the foremost position in the vehicle platoon.

[0065] For example, the battery information may be the battery energy level, and the vehicle information may include at least one of the following information: the battery capacity, battery degradation degree, and battery SoC of the vehicle assigned to the index, the weight, air resistance, inclination, or drag of the vehicle assigned to the index, but is not limited thereto.

[0066] The driving arrangement order determination unit 130 may calculate the difference between the first driving distance of the following vehicle with the maximum driving distance among the vehicles in the platooning and the second driving distance of the leading vehicle, and may check whether the calculated difference is greater than a threshold value. When the calculated difference is greater than the threshold value, the driving arrangement order determination unit 130 may determine the driving arrangement order to arrange the following vehicle with the maximum driving distance at the frontmost position in the platoon.

[0067] Here, when the driving arrangement order determination unit 130 determines the driving arrangement order, if the following vehicle with the maximum driving distance is arranged at the frontmost position in the platoon, then the driving arrangement order determination unit 130 may determine the driving arrangement order to arrange the original leading vehicle adjacent to and immediately behind the following vehicle with the maximum driving distance.

[0068] When the driving arrangement order determination unit 130 determines the driving arrangement order, if the following vehicle with the maximum driving distance is arranged at the frontmost position in the platoon, then the driving arrangement order determination unit 130 may determine the driving arrangement order to change the arrangement order of at least one following vehicle arranged between behind the leading vehicle and in front of the following vehicle with the maximum driving distance according to the original driving arrangement order.

[0069] When the driving arrangement order determination unit 130 determines the driving arrangement order, if the following vehicle with the maximum driving distance is arranged at the frontmost position in the platoon, then the driving arrangement order determination unit 130 may determine the driving arrangement order to keep the arrangement order of at least one following vehicle arranged behind the following vehicle with the maximum driving distance according to the original driving arrangement order unchanged.

[0070] In another case, when determining the driving arrangement order of the platooning vehicles, the driving arrangement order determination unit 130 may estimate the respective driving distances of the platooning vehicles based on the acquired battery information and vehicle information, may calculate the number of arrangement situations of the platooning vehicles based on the estimated driving distances, may determine the minimum driving distance in various arrangement situations of the platooning vehicles, may select, among the situations with the determined minimum driving distance, the situation with the longest minimum driving distance as the new situation, and may determine the driving arrangement order according to the arrangement of the platooning vehicles corresponding to the new situation.

[0071] When determining the driving arrangement order of the platooning vehicles, the driving arrangement order determination unit 130 may estimate the respective driving distances of the platooning vehicles based on the acquired battery information and vehicle information, may calculate the number of the arrangement cases of the platooning vehicles based on the estimated driving distances, may determine the minimum driving distance in various arrangement cases of the platooning vehicles, may, among the cases with the determined minimum driving distance, select the case with the longest minimum driving distance as a new case, may check whether the difference between the maximum driving distance in the new case and the maximum driving distance in the current case is greater than a threshold, and when the difference is greater than the threshold, the driving queue order determination unit 130 may determine the driving arrangement order according to the arrangement of the platooning vehicles corresponding to the new case.

[0072] For example, the battery information may be the battery energy size, and the vehicle information may include at least one of the following information: the battery capacity, battery degradation degree, and battery SoC of the vehicle assigned to the index, the weight, air resistance, gradient, or drag of the vehicle assigned to the index, but is not limited thereto.

[0073] Each arrangement case of the platooning vehicles may include the driving arrangement order of the platooning vehicles and the driving distance of each vehicle.

[0074] In this way, in some embodiments of the present invention, the battery information and vehicle information may be acquired from the platooning vehicles, the driving arrangement order may be determined based on the acquired information, and the platooning vehicles may be rearranged according to the determined driving arrangement order, so as to maximize the driving distance of the entire vehicle fleet.

[0075] Figure 3 The figure is a schematic diagram of a server for controlling platooning of an automatic platooning control device including an electric vehicle according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0076] As Figure 3 shown, the automatic platooning control device of the electric vehicle according to some embodiments of the present invention may also be applied to a server 50 for controlling platooning.

[0077] That is to say, the server 50 for controlling platooning may communicate with multiple platooning vehicles 60, may determine the driving arrangement order based on the battery information and vehicle information of the vehicles 60, and may control the vehicles to rearrange the platooning vehicles.

[0078] The server 50 for controlling platooning may include a database 200 and a platooning control device 100; the database 200 is configured to store battery information and vehicle information of multiple platooning vehicles; the platooning control device 100 is configured to determine the driving arrangement order of the platooning vehicles based on the battery information and vehicle information, and control the vehicles according to the determined driving arrangement order to rearrange the platooning vehicles.

[0079] Here, the platooning control device 100 may include: a communication unit, an index allocation unit, a driving arrangement order determination unit, and a controller; the communication unit is configured to communicate with multiple platooning vehicles 60; the index allocation unit is configured to allocate an index to each platooning vehicle; the driving arrangement order determination unit is configured to obtain the battery information from the vehicles allocated with the index through the communication unit, and determine the driving arrangement order of the platooning vehicles based on the obtained battery information; the controller is configured to control the vehicles through the communication unit to rearrange the platooning vehicles according to the determined driving arrangement order.

[0080] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of an electric vehicle including a platooning control device for explaining some embodiments according to the present invention.

[0081] As Figure 4 shown, the platooning control device of the electric vehicle according to some embodiments of the present invention may also be applied to the platooning electric vehicle 60-1.

[0082] That is to say, the electric vehicle 60-1 can communicate with multiple platooning vehicles 60-2, can determine the driving arrangement order based on the battery information and vehicle information of the platooning vehicles 60-2, and can control the vehicles to rearrange the platooning vehicles.

[0083] The electric vehicle 60-1 may include a storage device 300 and a platooning control device 100; the storage device 300 is configured to store the battery information and vehicle information of multiple platooning vehicles; the platooning control device 100 is configured to determine the driving arrangement order of the platooning vehicles based on the battery information and vehicle information, and control the vehicles to rearrange the platooning vehicles according to the determined driving arrangement order.

[0084] Here, the automatic platooning control device 100 may include: a communication unit, an index allocation unit, a driving arrangement order determination unit, and a controller; the communication unit is configured to communicate with multiple automatic platooning vehicles 60-2; the index allocation unit is configured to allocate an index to each automatic platooning vehicle; the driving arrangement order determination unit is configured to obtain battery information from the vehicles assigned with indexes through the communication unit, and determine the driving arrangement order of the automatic platooning vehicles based on the obtained battery information; the controller is configured to control the vehicles through the communication unit to rearrange the automatic platooning vehicles according to the determined driving arrangement order.

[0085] Figure 5 It is a flowchart for explaining a method of controlling automatic platooning according to some embodiments of the present invention. Figure 6 For explaining Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the vehicle rearrangement process of the method for controlling automatic platooning.

[0086] As Figure 5 and Figure 6 shown, the method of controlling automatic platooning according to some embodiments of the present invention is a strategic method of balancing the battery SoC between vehicles by swapping the positions of the leading vehicle and one of the following vehicles.

[0087] First, according to some embodiments of the present invention, when an automatic platooning control request signal is received, an index may be allocated to each automatic platooning vehicle (S11).

[0088] Here, according to some embodiments of the present invention, when allocating an index, the total number of all automatic platooning vehicles may be identified, and an index may be allocated to each vehicle and each position among all the identified vehicles.

[0089] For example, according to some embodiments of the present invention, when allocating an index, a first index may be allocated to each vehicle among all automatic platooning vehicles, and a second index corresponding to the position may be allocated to each vehicle assigned with the first index.

[0090] That is to say, according to some embodiments of the present invention, when the total number of all automatic platooning vehicles is n, the first indexes A, B, C, D,... may be allocated to the n vehicles respectively, and the second indexes i1, i2,..., and i n .

[0091] As Figure 6As shown, when the total number of all automatically queued vehicles is 4, the first indices A, B, C, and D can be assigned to the respective vehicles, and the second indices i1, i2, i3, and i4 can be assigned to the respective positions of the vehicles to which the first indices are assigned.

[0092] For example, the following driving arrangement order can be achieved: vehicle A is at position i1, vehicle B is at position i2, vehicle C is at position i3, and vehicle D is at position i4.

[0093] Then, according to some embodiments of the present invention, battery information can be obtained from the vehicles assigned with indices, and the respective battery SoC values of the automatically queued vehicles can be calculated based on the obtained battery information (S13).

[0094] That is, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the battery SoC values SoC A 、SoC B 、SoC C 、... can be calculated respectively for the automatically queued vehicles A, B, C, D,....

[0095] For example, as Figure 6 shown, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the battery SoC A of vehicle A, the battery SoC B of vehicle B, the battery SoC C of vehicle C, and the battery SoC D of vehicle D can be calculated respectively.

[0096] Then, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the difference (S15) between the first battery SoC value of the following vehicle with the maximum battery SoC value among the automatically queued vehicles and the second battery SoC value of the leading vehicle can be calculated.

[0097] That is, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the difference between the maximum power SoC max of the following vehicle and the battery SoC1 of the leading vehicle can be calculated.

[0098] For example, as Figure 6 shown, when the battery SoC A of vehicle A is about 40%, the battery SoC B of vehicle B is about 70%, the battery SoC C of vehicle C is about 60%, and the battery SoC D of vehicle D is about 50%, the battery SoC1 of the leading vehicle can be about 40%, and the maximum power SoC max of the following vehicle can be about 70%.

[0099] That is, SoCmax = max(SoC A , SoC B , SoC C , SoC D ) = 70%.

[0100] Therefore, the difference between the maximum state of charge SoC of the following vehicle max and the battery SoC1 of the leading vehicle can be approximately 30%.

[0101] That is, SoC max - SOC1 = 70% - 40% = 30%.

[0102] Then, according to some embodiments of the present invention, it can be checked whether the calculated difference is greater than a threshold value (S17).

[0103] For example, as Figure 6 shown, when the difference between the maximum state of charge SoC of the following vehicle max and the battery SoC1 of the leading vehicle is approximately 30% and the threshold value is approximately 25%, it can be seen that the calculated difference is greater than the threshold value.

[0104] That is, SoC max - SOC1 > Thr SOC .

[0105] Then, according to some embodiments of the present invention, when the calculated difference is greater than the threshold value, the driving arrangement order can be determined to arrange the following vehicle with the maximum battery SoC value at the front position of the vehicle fleet, and the vehicle can be controlled to rearrange the automatically queued driving vehicles according to the determined driving arrangement order (S19).

[0106] For example, as Figure 6 shown, the automatically queued driving vehicles can be rearranged from the original driving arrangement order according to the determined driving arrangement order, where the original driving arrangement order is: vehicle A is at position i1, vehicle B is at position i2, vehicle C is at position i3, and vehicle D is at position i4; the determined driving arrangement order is: vehicle B is at position i1, vehicle A is at position i2, vehicle C is at position i3, and vehicle D is at position i4.

[0107] Thus, some embodiments of the present invention correspond to a strategic method of balancing the battery SoC between vehicles (in this case, the battery SOC information of each EV can be obtained). The vehicle with the highest battery SoC can be located at the frontmost position of the convoy (this position will increase the consumption rate of the battery SoC of the leading vehicle). Then, the SoC of the vehicle with the highest battery SoC among the following vehicles can be compared with the SoC of the leading vehicle, and when the difference between them is equal to or greater than a specific value, the corresponding vehicle can move to the frontmost position of the convoy.

[0108] That is, some embodiments of the present invention correspond to a method of exchanging the positions of the leading vehicle and one of the following vehicles.

[0109] Figure 7 FIG. is a flowchart for explaining a method of controlling platooning according to some embodiments of the present invention. Figure 8 For explaining Figure 7 Schematic diagram of the vehicle rearrangement process of the method of controlling platooning.

[0110] As Figure 7 and Figure 8 shown, the method of controlling platooning according to some embodiments of the present invention is a strategic method of balancing the battery energy between vehicles by exchanging the positions of the leading vehicle and one of the following vehicles.

[0111] First, according to some embodiments of the present invention, when a platooning control request signal is received, an index can be assigned to each platooning vehicle (S31).

[0112] Here, according to some embodiments of the present invention, when assigning an index, the total number of all platooning vehicles can be identified, and an index can be assigned to each vehicle and each position among all the identified vehicles.

[0113] For example, according to some embodiments of the present invention, when assigning an index, a first index can be assigned to each vehicle among all platooning vehicles, and a second index corresponding to the position can be assigned to each vehicle assigned the first index.

[0114] That is to say, according to some embodiments of the present invention, when the total number of all platooning vehicles is n, respective first indices A, B, C, D,... can be assigned to the n vehicles, and second indices i1, i2,..., and i n .

[0115] As Figure 8As shown, when the total number of all automatically queued vehicles is 4, first indices A, B, C, and D can be assigned to the vehicles respectively, and second indices i1, i2, i3, and i4 can be assigned to respective positions of each vehicle to which the first index is assigned.

[0116] For example, the following driving arrangement order can be achieved: vehicle A is at position i1, vehicle B is at position i2, vehicle C is at position i3, and vehicle D is at position i4.

[0117] Then, according to some embodiments of the present invention, battery information can be obtained from the vehicles assigned with indices, and respective battery energy magnitudes of the automatically queued vehicles can be calculated based on the obtained battery information (S33).

[0118] That is to say, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the battery energy magnitudes E A , E B , E C ,... of the automatically queued vehicles A, B, C, D,... can be calculated respectively.

[0119] For example, as Figure 8 shown, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the battery energy magnitude E A of vehicle A, the battery energy magnitude E B of vehicle B, the battery energy magnitude E C of vehicle C, and the battery energy magnitude E D of vehicle D can be calculated respectively.

[0120] Then, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the difference between the first battery energy magnitude of the following vehicle having the maximum battery energy magnitude and the second battery energy magnitude of the leading vehicle among the automatically queued vehicles can be calculated (S35).

[0121] That is to say, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the difference between the maximum battery energy magnitude E max of the following vehicle and the battery energy magnitude E1 of the leading vehicle can be calculated.

[0122] For example, as Figure 8 shown, when the battery energy magnitude E A of vehicle A is about 150 kWh, the battery energy magnitude E B of vehicle B is about 320 kWh, the battery energy magnitude E C of vehicle C is about 350 kWh, and the battery energy magnitude E D of vehicle D is about 250 kWh, the battery energy magnitude E1 of the leading vehicle can be about 150 kWh, and the maximum battery energy magnitude E maxIt can be approximately 350 kWh.

[0123] That is, E max = max(E A , E B , E C , E D ) = 350 kWh.

[0124] Therefore, the difference between the maximum battery energy level E max of the following vehicle and the battery energy level E1 of the leading vehicle can be approximately 200 kWh.

[0125] That is, E max - E1 = 350 kWh - 150 kWh = 200 kWh.

[0126] Then, according to some embodiments of the present invention, it can be checked whether the calculated difference is greater than a threshold value (S37).

[0127] For example, as Figure 8 shown, when the difference between the maximum battery energy level E max of the following vehicle and the battery energy level E1 of the leading vehicle is approximately 200 kWh and the threshold value is approximately 100 kWh, it can be seen that the calculated difference is greater than the said threshold value.

[0128] That is, E max - E1 > Thr E .

[0129] Then, according to some embodiments of the present invention, when the calculated difference is greater than the said threshold value, the driving arrangement order can be determined to arrange the following vehicle with the maximum battery energy level at the frontmost position in the vehicle platoon, and the vehicle can be controlled to rearrange the automatically queued driving vehicles according to the determined driving arrangement order (S39).

[0130] For example, as Figure 8 shown, the automatically queued driving vehicles can be rearranged from the original driving arrangement order according to the determined driving arrangement order, where the original driving arrangement order is: vehicle A is at position i1, vehicle B is at position i2, vehicle C is at position i3, and vehicle D is at position i4; the determined driving arrangement order is: vehicle C is at position i1, vehicle A is at position i2, vehicle B is at position i3, and vehicle D is at position i4.

[0131] Thus, some embodiments of the present invention correspond to a strategic method of balancing the battery energy among vehicles (in this case, the battery energy information of each EV can be obtained). The vehicle with the highest battery energy can be located at the frontmost position of the vehicle fleet (this position will increase the battery output of the leading vehicle). Then, the battery energy of the vehicle with the highest battery energy among the following vehicles can be compared with the battery energy of the leading vehicle, and when the difference between them is equal to or greater than a specific value, the corresponding vehicle can move to the frontmost position of the vehicle fleet.

[0132] That is, some embodiments of the present invention correspond to a method of exchanging the positions of the leading vehicle and one of the following vehicles.

[0133] Figure 9 FIG. is a flowchart for illustrating a method of controlling platooning according to some embodiments of the present invention. Figure 10 For illustrating Figure 9 a schematic diagram of the vehicle rearrangement process of the method of controlling platooning.

[0134] As Figure 9 and Figure 10 shown, the method of controlling platooning according to some embodiments of the present invention is a strategic method of increasing the platooning distance by exchanging the positions of the leading vehicle and one of the following vehicles.

[0135] First, according to some embodiments of the present invention, when an automatic platooning control request signal is received, an index can be assigned to each automatic platooning vehicle (S51).

[0136] Here, according to some embodiments of the present invention, when assigning an index, the total number of all automatic platooning vehicles can be identified, and an index can be assigned to each vehicle and each position among all the identified vehicles.

[0137] For example, according to some embodiments of the present invention, when assigning an index, a first index can be assigned to each vehicle among all automatic platooning vehicles, and a second index corresponding to the position can be assigned to each vehicle assigned the first index.

[0138] That is to say, according to some embodiments of the present invention, when the total number of all automatic platooning vehicles is n, respective first indices A, B, C, D,... can be assigned to the n vehicles, and second indices i1, i2,..., and i n .

[0139] As Figure 10As shown, when the total number of all vehicles traveling in an automated platoon is 4, first indices A, B, C, and D can be assigned to each vehicle, and second indices i1, i2, i3, and i4 can be assigned to the positions of the vehicles to which the first indices are assigned.

[0140] For example, the following traveling arrangement order can be achieved: vehicle A is at position i1, vehicle B is at position i2, vehicle C is at position i3, and vehicle D is at position i4.

[0141] Then, according to some embodiments of the present invention, battery information and vehicle information can be obtained from the vehicles assigned with indices, and the respective traveling distances of the vehicles traveling in the automated platoon can be estimated based on the obtained battery information and vehicle information (S53).

[0142] Here, the battery information can be the battery energy magnitude, and the vehicle information can include at least one of the following information: the battery capacity, battery degradation degree, and battery SoC of the vehicle assigned with the index, the weight, air resistance, gradient, or drag of the vehicle assigned with the index, but is not limited thereto.

[0143] That is, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the traveling distances S of the vehicles A, B, C, D,... traveling in the automated platoon can be calculated respectively. A 、S B 、S C ……。

[0144] For example, as Figure 10 shown, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the traveling distance S of vehicle A, A the traveling distance S of vehicle B, B the traveling distance S of vehicle C, C and the traveling distance S of vehicle D D can be calculated respectively.

[0145] Then, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the difference between the first traveling distance of the following vehicle with the maximum traveling distance and the second traveling distance of the leading vehicle among the vehicles traveling in the automated platoon can be calculated (S55).

[0146] That is, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the difference between the maximum traveling distance S of the following vehicle max and the traveling distance S1 of the leading vehicle can be calculated.

[0147] For example, as Figure 10 shown, when the traveling distance S of vehicle A A is about 400 km, the traveling distance S of vehicle B B is about 700 km, and the traveling distance S of vehicle C Cis about 620 km, and the driving distance S of vehicle D D is about 480 km, the driving distance S1 of the leading vehicle can be about 400 km, and the maximum driving distance S of the following vehicle max can be about 700 km.

[0148] That is, S max = max(S A , S B , S C , S D ) = 700 km.

[0149] Therefore, the difference between the maximum driving distance S of the following vehicle max and the driving distance S1 of the leading vehicle can be about 300 km.

[0150] That is, S max - S1 = 700 km - 400 km = 300 km.

[0151] Then, according to some embodiments of the present invention, it can be checked whether the calculated difference is greater than a threshold value (S57).

[0152] For example, as Figure 10 shown, when the difference between the maximum driving distance S of the following vehicle max and the driving distance S1 of the leading vehicle is about 300 km, and the threshold value is about 100 km, it can be seen that the calculated difference is greater than the said threshold value.

[0153] That is, S max - S1 > Thr S .

[0154] Then, according to some embodiments of the present invention, when the calculated difference is greater than the threshold value, the driving arrangement order can be determined to arrange the following vehicle with the maximum driving distance at the frontmost position of the vehicle fleet, and the vehicle can be controlled to rearrange the automatically queued driving vehicles according to the determined driving arrangement order (S59).

[0155] For example, as Figure 10 shown, the automatically queued driving vehicles can be rearranged from the original driving arrangement order according to the determined driving arrangement order, where the original driving arrangement order is: vehicle A is at position i1, vehicle B is at position i2, vehicle C is at position i3, and vehicle D is at position i4; the determined driving arrangement order is: vehicle B is at position i1, vehicle A is at position i2, vehicle C is at position i3, and vehicle D is at position i4.

[0156] Thus, some embodiments of the present invention correspond to a strategic method of increasing the platooning distance (in this case, the achievable driving distance can be estimated considering the current battery energy level and vehicle information of each vehicle). The vehicle with the highest achievable driving distance can be located at the front position of the platoon, and then the achievable driving distance of the vehicle with the highest achievable driving distance among the following vehicles can be compared with the achievable driving distance of the leading vehicle. And when the difference between them is equal to or greater than a specific value, the corresponding vehicle can move to the front position of the platoon.

[0157] That is to say, some embodiments of the present invention correspond to a method of exchanging the positions of the leading vehicle and one of the following vehicles.

[0158] Figure 11 FIG. is a flowchart for explaining a method of controlling automatic platooning according to some embodiments of the present invention. Figures 12 to 16 For explaining Figure 11 a schematic diagram of the vehicle rearrangement process of the method of controlling automatic platooning.

[0159] As Figures 11 to 16 shown, the method of controlling automatic platooning according to some embodiments of the present invention is a strategic method of maximizing the platooning distance by changing the positions of all vehicles so that the driving distance is maximized.

[0160] First, according to some embodiments of the present invention, when an automatic platooning control request signal is received, an index can be assigned to each automatic platooning vehicle (S61).

[0161] Here, according to some embodiments of the present invention, when assigning an index, the total number of all automatic platooning vehicles can be identified, and an index can be assigned to each vehicle and each position among all the identified vehicles.

[0162] For example, according to some embodiments of the present invention, when assigning an index, a first index can be assigned to each of all automatic platooning vehicles, and a second index corresponding to the position can be assigned to each vehicle assigned the first index.

[0163] That is to say, according to some embodiments of the present invention, when the total number of all automatic platooning vehicles is n, the first indexes A, B, C, D,... can be assigned to the n vehicles, and the second indexes i1, i2,..., and i n .

[0164] As Figure 12As shown, when the total number of all automated platooning vehicles is 4, the first indices A, B, C, and D can be assigned to the respective vehicles, and the second indices i1, i2, i3, and i4 can be assigned to the positions of the vehicles to which the first indices are assigned.

[0165] The following driving permutation order can be achieved: Vehicle A is located at any one of i1, i2, i3, and i4, vehicle B is located at any one of i1, i2, i3, and i4, vehicle C is located at any one of i1, i2, i3, and i4, and vehicle D is located at any one of i1, i2, i3, and i4.

[0166] Then, according to some embodiments of the present invention, battery information and vehicle information can be obtained from the vehicles to which the indices are assigned, and the respective driving distances of the automated platooning vehicles can be estimated based on the obtained battery information and vehicle information (S63).

[0167] Here, the automated platooning vehicles may encounter different air resistances depending on their current positions during platooning, and thus may have different achievable driving distances, so the achievable driving distances at each position are estimated.

[0168] For example, the battery information may be the battery energy magnitude, and the vehicle information may include at least one of the following information: the battery capacity, battery degradation degree, and battery SoC of the vehicle to which the index is assigned, the weight, air resistance, inclination, or drag of the vehicle to which the index is assigned, but is not limited thereto.

[0169] That is, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the driving distances S(i) of each of the automated platooning vehicles A, B, C, D,... and each position i1, i2, i3, and i4 can be calculated.

[0170] For example, as Figure 12 shown, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the driving distances S A (i1), S A (i2), S A (i3), S A (i4) of vehicle A, the driving distances S B (i1), S B (i2), S B (i3), and S B (i4) of vehicle B, the driving distances S C (i1), S C (i2), S C (i3), and S C (i4) of vehicle C, and the driving distances S D (i1), S D (i2), SD (i3) and S D (i4).

[0171] Then, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the number of arrangements of platooning vehicles can be calculated based on the estimated driving distance (S64).

[0172] For example, as Figure 13 shown, when the total number of all automated platooning vehicles is four, the total number of cases can be calculated as 4!.

[0173] Here, each arrangement of platooning vehicles can include the driving arrangement order of the automated platooning vehicles and the driving distance of each vehicle.

[0174] Then, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the minimum driving distance of each arrangement of platooning vehicles can be determined (S65).

[0175] For example, as Figure shown, in the arrangement of platooning vehicles, when the driving arrangement order is A, B, C, and D and the driving distances of the respective vehicles are 400, 950, 800, and 570, the minimum driving distance can be determined as 400.

[0176] According to some embodiments of the present invention, in the case where the minimum driving distance is determined, the case with the longest minimum driving distance can be selected as the new case (S67).

[0177] For example, as ​ shown, in the arrangement of platooning vehicles, when the driving arrangement order is B, A, D, and C and the driving distances of the respective vehicles are 700, 650, 700, and 700, the minimum driving distance can be determined as 650. Therefore, the corresponding case can be determined as the case with the longest minimum driving distance among all cases.

[0178] Then, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the maximum driving distance S in the new case can be examined new and the maximum driving distance S old in the current case to determine whether the difference therebetween is greater than the threshold value (S68).

[0179] That is, S new -S old >Thr dist .

[0180] Then, according to some embodiments of the present invention, when the calculated difference is greater than the threshold, the driving arrangement order may be determined based on the arrangement of the platooning vehicles corresponding to the new situation, and the vehicles may be controlled to rearrange the platooning vehicles automatically according to the determined driving arrangement order (S69).

[0181] For example, as ​ shown, the platooning vehicles may be rearranged from the original driving arrangement order according to the determined driving arrangement order, where the original driving arrangement order is: vehicle A is at position i1, vehicle B is at position i2, vehicle C is at position i3, and vehicle D is at position i4; the determined driving arrangement order is: vehicle B is at position i1, vehicle A is at position i2, vehicle D is at position i3, and vehicle C is at position i4.

[0182] The process of maximizing the platooning driving distance according to some embodiments of the present invention will be mathematized below.

[0183] max k {min[S1(i1), S2(i2), S3(i3), S4(i4),..., S n (i n )] k}

[0184] k = 1,...., n!

[0185] i1, i2, i3,...., i n ∈{a, b, c, d,....}

[0186] Here, i1 is the first located vehicle and corresponds to one of the arrangements of vehicle IDs A, B, C, D, …, and i3 is the third located vehicle and corresponds to one of the remaining vehicles other than the vehicles arranged at i1 and i2.

[0187] That is, i3 ∈ {A, B, C, D,...} - {i1, i2}

[0188] i n is the vehicle located at the nth position and corresponds to the arrangement of the remaining vehicles other than the vehicles arranged at i1, i2, …, and i n-1 .

[0189] That is, i n ∈ {A, B, C, D,...} - {i1, i2,..., i n-1}

[0190] S1(i1) is the available driving distance of the first-positioned vehicle i1, and S2(i2) is the available driving distance of the second-positioned vehicle i2.

[0191] Thus, some embodiments of the present invention are strategic methods for maximizing the platooning driving distance. In this case, indexes can be assigned to all vehicles and all permutations of vehicles, and the available driving distance can be estimated considering the current battery energy level and vehicle information of each vehicle.

[0192] Then, the maximum available driving distance in the platoon during platooning can be determined by the vehicle with the shortest available driving distance among all vehicles. Therefore, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the minimum value of the available driving distance of each individual vehicle in each permutation of platooning vehicles (a total of n!) can be calculated, and the permutation of platooning vehicles with the maximum available driving distance during platooning can be selected according to the permutation of each vehicle. When the newly calculated maximum available driving distance S of the platooning vehicles new is greater than a specific value Thr old or greater by more compared to the maximum available driving distance S based on the current vehicle permutation dist the vehicles can be rearranged.

[0193] That is, some embodiments of the present invention are methods for changing the positions of all vehicles to maximize the driving distance.

[0194] Thus, according to the present invention, an automatic platooning control device for electric vehicles including an index assignment unit, a driving permutation determination unit, and a controller can execute a method for controlling automatic platooning as follows.

[0195] According to the present invention, when the index assignment unit receives an automatic platooning control request signal, it can assign indexes to each automatic platooning vehicle.

[0196] Here, assigning indexes can include identifying the total number of all automatic platooning vehicles, and assigning indexes to each vehicle and each position among all the identified vehicles.

[0197] Assigning indexes can include assigning a first index to each vehicle among all automatic platooning vehicles, and assigning a second index corresponding to the position to each vehicle assigned the first index.

[0198] According to the present invention, the driving permutation determination unit can obtain battery information from the vehicles assigned indexes, and can determine the driving permutation of the automatic platooning vehicles based on the obtained battery information.

[0199] For example, when determining the driving arrangement order, the battery SoC value of the platooning vehicle can be calculated based on the obtained battery information, and the driving arrangement order can be determined by arranging the vehicle with the largest battery SoC value among the platooning vehicles at the frontmost position of the vehicle fleet.

[0200] Here, when determining the driving arrangement order, the difference between the first battery SoC value of the following vehicle with the largest battery SoC value and the second battery SoC value of the leading vehicle among the platooning vehicles can be calculated, and it can be checked whether the calculated difference is greater than a threshold value. When the calculated difference is greater than the threshold value, the driving arrangement order can be determined by arranging the following vehicle with the largest battery SoC value at the frontmost position of the vehicle fleet.

[0201] In another example, when determining the driving arrangement order, the battery energy of the platooning vehicle can be calculated based on the obtained battery information, and the driving arrangement order can be determined by arranging the vehicle with the largest battery energy among the platooning vehicles at the frontmost position of the vehicle fleet.

[0202] Here, when determining the driving arrangement order, the difference between the first battery energy of the following vehicle with the largest battery energy and the second battery energy of the leading vehicle among the platooning vehicles can be calculated, and it can be checked whether the calculated difference is greater than a threshold value. When the calculated difference is greater than the threshold value, the driving arrangement order can be determined by arranging the following vehicle with the largest battery energy at the frontmost position of the vehicle fleet.

[0203] In another example, when determining the driving arrangement order, the driving distance of the platooning vehicle can be estimated respectively based on the obtained battery information and vehicle information, and the driving arrangement order can be determined by arranging the vehicle with the largest driving distance among the platooning vehicles at the frontmost position of the vehicle fleet.

[0204] Here, when determining the driving arrangement order, the difference between the first driving distance of the following vehicle with the largest driving distance and the second driving distance of the leading vehicle among the platooning vehicles can be calculated, and it can be checked whether the calculated difference is greater than a threshold value. When the calculated difference is greater than the threshold value, the driving arrangement order can be determined by arranging the following vehicle with the largest driving distance at the frontmost position of the vehicle fleet.

[0205] In another example, when determining the driving arrangement order, the driving distances of the vehicles in the platoon can be estimated respectively based on the obtained battery information and vehicle information, the number of permutations of the vehicles in the platoon can be calculated based on the estimated driving distances, the minimum driving distance in each permutation of the vehicles in the platoon can be determined, the case with the longest minimum driving distance among the cases with the determined minimum driving distance can be selected as the new case, and the driving arrangement order can be determined according to the permutation of the vehicles in the platoon corresponding to the new case.

[0206] Here, when determining the driving arrangement order, the driving distances of the vehicles in the platoon can be estimated respectively based on the obtained battery information and vehicle information, the number of permutations of the vehicles in the platoon can be calculated based on the estimated driving distances, the minimum driving distance in each permutation of the vehicles in the platoon can be determined, the case with the longest minimum driving distance among the cases with the determined minimum driving distance can be selected as the new case, the difference between the maximum driving distance in the new case and the maximum driving distance in the current case can be checked to see if it is greater than a threshold value, and when the difference is greater than the threshold value, the driving arrangement order can be determined according to the permutation of the vehicles in the platoon corresponding to the new case.

[0207] Then, according to the present invention, the controller can control the vehicle to rearrange the vehicles in the platoon according to the determined driving arrangement order.

[0208] In this way, according to the present invention, the battery information and vehicle information can be obtained from the vehicles in the platoon, the driving arrangement order can be determined based on the obtained battery information and vehicle information, and the vehicles in the platoon can be rearranged according to the determined driving arrangement order, so as to maximize the driving distance of the entire vehicle fleet.

[0209] In addition, according to the present invention, a computer-readable recording medium on which a program for executing the method for controlling the platoon driving of an electric vehicle's platoon driving control device is recorded can execute the process provided by the platoon driving control method.

[0210] The platoon driving control device and method of an electric vehicle according to at least one embodiment of the present invention can obtain the battery information and vehicle information from the vehicles in the platoon, determine the driving arrangement order based on the obtained information, and rearrange the vehicles in the platoon according to the determined driving arrangement order, so as to maximize the driving distance of the entire vehicle fleet.

[0211] That is to say, the present invention can be based on the full-automatic driving technology and the V2V communication between vehicles to expand the popularization of electric vehicles (EVs).

[0212] The core technology according to the present invention may be such a control technology: it estimates the battery energy or the available driving distance of an automatically queued electric vehicle, and changes the driving order based on the estimated battery energy or the available driving distance to maximize the driving distance of the entire fleet.

[0213] Those skilled in the art should understand that the effects achievable through the present invention are not limited to the content specifically described above, and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood through the detailed description.

[0214] The present invention mentioned above can also be implemented as computer-readable code stored on a computer-readable recording medium. A computer-readable recording medium is any data storage device that can store data that can be read by a computer later. Examples of computer-readable recording media include hard disk drives (HDDs), solid state drives (SSDs), silicon disk drives (SDDs), read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), CD-ROMs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, optical data storage devices, and so on.

[0215] The description of the present invention is merely exemplary in nature, so variations that do not deviate from the essence of the present invention are intended to fall within the scope of the present invention. Such variations should not be regarded as departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An automatic platooning control device for an electric vehicle, comprising: A communication unit configured to communicate with multiple automatically platooning vehicles; An index allocation unit configured to allocate an index to each of the multiple automatically platooning vehicles; A driving arrangement order determination unit configured to: Obtain battery information and vehicle information from the automatically platooning vehicles allocated with an index among the multiple automatically platooning vehicles through the communication unit; Estimate the driving distance for each automatically platooning vehicle and each position based on the obtained battery information and vehicle information; Calculate the number of arrangements of the multiple automatically platooning vehicles; Determine the minimum driving distance for each arrangement of the multiple automatically platooning vehicles; Select the case with the longest minimum driving distance as the new case; Check whether the difference between the maximum driving distance in the new case and the maximum driving distance in the current case is greater than a threshold; When the difference is greater than the threshold, determine the driving arrangement order based on the arrangement of the multiple automatically platooning vehicles corresponding to the new case; And A controller configured to: Rearrange the automatically platooning vehicles among the multiple automatically platooning vehicles based on the determined driving arrangement order.

2. The automatic platooning control device for an electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein, When allocating an index, the index allocation unit is configured to: Identify the total number of the multiple automatically platooning vehicles; Allocate an index to each vehicle and each position among all the identified vehicles.

3. The automatic platooning control device for an electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein, When allocating an index, the index allocation unit is configured to: Allocate a first index to each of the multiple automatically platooning vehicles; Allocate a second index to each position where multiple automatically platooning vehicles can be deployed.

4. The automatic platooning control device for an electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein, When obtaining battery information, the driving arrangement order determination unit is configured to: Obtain battery information including at least one of state of charge information or battery energy size information.

5. The automatic platooning control device for an electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein, When determining the driving arrangement order of the automatically platooning vehicles, the driving arrangement order determination unit is configured to: Estimate the driving distance for each automatically platooning vehicle and each position based on the obtained battery information and vehicle information; Calculate the number of arrangements of the multiple automatically platooning vehicles; Determine the minimum driving distance for each arrangement of the multiple automatically platooning vehicles; Select the case with the longest minimum driving distance as the new case; Determine the driving arrangement order based on the arrangement of the multiple automatically platooning vehicles corresponding to the new case.

6. The automatic platooning control device for an electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein, Each arrangement of the multiple automatically platooning vehicles includes: The driving arrangement order of the multiple automatically platooning vehicles; The driving distance of the multiple automatically platooning vehicles.

7. A method for controlling the automatic platooning of an electric vehicle, comprising: When receiving an automatic platooning control request signal, allocate an index to each of the multiple automatically platooning vehicles through the index allocation unit; Obtain battery information and vehicle information from the automatically platooning vehicles allocated with an index through the driving arrangement order determination unit; Estimate the driving distance for each automatically platooning vehicle and each position based on the obtained battery information and vehicle information; Calculate the number of arrangements of the multiple automatically platooning vehicles; Determine the minimum driving distance in each arrangement of multiple platooning vehicles; Select the case with the longest minimum driving distance as the new case; Check whether the difference between the maximum driving distance in the new case and the maximum driving distance in the current case is greater than a threshold; When the difference is greater than the threshold, determine the driving arrangement order based on the arrangement of multiple platooning vehicles corresponding to the new case; Based on the determined driving arrangement order, rearrange the platooning vehicles among the multiple platooning vehicles through a controller.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein The index allocation includes: Identify the total number of platooning vehicles among the multiple platooning vehicles through an index allocation unit; Allocate indexes to each vehicle and each position among all the identified vehicles through the index allocation unit.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein Determining the driving arrangement order includes: Obtain battery information including at least one of battery state of charge information or battery energy size information through a driving arrangement order determination unit; 10. The method according to claim 7, wherein Determining the driving arrangement order includes: Estimate the driving distance for each platooning vehicle and each position based on the obtained battery information and vehicle information; Calculate the number of arrangements of multiple platooning vehicles; Determine the minimum driving distance in each arrangement of multiple platooning vehicles; Select the case with the longest minimum driving distance as the new case; Determine the driving arrangement order based on the arrangement of multiple platooning vehicles corresponding to the new case.

11. A server for controlling the platooning of electric vehicles, comprising: A database configured to store battery information and vehicle information of multiple platooning vehicles; And A platooning control device configured to: Determine the driving arrangement order of the platooning vehicles among the multiple platooning vehicles based on the battery information and vehicle information; Rearrange the platooning vehicles among the multiple platooning vehicles based on the determined driving arrangement order; Wherein, the platooning control device includes: A communication unit configured to communicate with multiple platooning vehicles; An index allocation unit configured to allocate indexes to the platooning vehicles among the multiple platooning vehicles; A driving arrangement order determination unit configured to: Obtain battery information from the platooning vehicles allocated with indexes through the communication unit; Estimate the driving distance for each platooning vehicle and each position based on the obtained battery information and vehicle information; Calculate the number of arrangements of multiple platooning vehicles; Determine the minimum driving distance in each arrangement of multiple platooning vehicles; Select the case with the longest minimum driving distance as the new case; Check whether the difference between the maximum driving distance in the new case and the maximum driving distance in the current case is greater than a threshold; When the difference is greater than the threshold, determine the driving arrangement order based on the arrangement of multiple platooning vehicles corresponding to the new case; and A controller configured to rearrange the multiple platooning vehicles based on the determined driving arrangement order.

12. An electric vehicle, comprising: A storage device configured to store battery information and vehicle information of multiple automated platooning vehicles; And An automated platooning control device configured to: Determine the driving arrangement order of multiple automated platooning vehicles based on the battery information and vehicle information; Rearrange multiple automated platooning vehicles based on the determined driving arrangement order; Wherein, the automated platooning control device includes: A communication unit configured to communicate with multiple automated platooning vehicles; An index allocation unit configured to allocate indexes to multiple automated platooning vehicles; A driving arrangement order determination unit configured to: Obtain battery information from the automated platooning vehicles assigned with indexes through the communication unit; Estimate the driving distance for each automated platooning vehicle and each position based on the obtained battery information and vehicle information; Calculate the number of arrangements of multiple automated platooning vehicles; Determine the minimum driving distance in each arrangement of multiple automated platooning vehicles; Select the case with the longest minimum driving distance as the new case; Check whether the difference between the maximum driving distance in the new case and the maximum driving distance in the current case is greater than a threshold; When the difference is greater than the threshold, determine the driving arrangement order based on the arrangement of multiple automated platooning vehicles corresponding to the new case; and A controller configured to rearrange multiple automated platooning vehicles based on the determined driving arrangement order.

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