Method for requesting parking in a safe area by simulating a motor vehicle failure

Abstract

The invention relates to a vehicle having an engine control unit (ECU) comprising means for detecting the imminence of a fault of the engine or of an element associated with the engine, and a vehicle control unit (VCU), the engine control unit (ECU) comprising means for geolocating the vehicle and the nearest structure for repairing the imminent fault, means for generating a route to be followed by the vehicle in order to reach the structure and means for locating at least one safe stopping position on the route, the two units comprising means for receiving and sending information between them, the vehicle control unit (VCU) sending a request to the engine control unit (ECU) to temporarily disable the vehicle just before the vehicle passes said at least one safe stopping position or the structure.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a method for requesting the stopping of a motor vehicle in a safe area by temporarily simulating a breakdown of the motor vehicle, the request being issued by an electronic control unit in the vehicle upon detection of an imminent breakdown of the vehicle, in order to prompt the driver to stop the vehicle in a safe area where there is no danger during the stop which may last for a long time, such as a parking area, a motorway rest area or even preferably a structure where the breakdown can be repaired. Background Art

[0002] The method for requesting a stop includes: the steps of detecting the proximity of at least one fault, geolocating the nearest structure for repairing the at least one fault, and after geolocating the position of the motor vehicle and at least one safe parking location on the motor vehicle's route toward the structure, indicating to the driver a route to follow in order to reach the structure.

[0003] Currently, upon detection of a serious failure that would immobilize the vehicle (e.g. a low fuel level below a minimum reserve, a risk of engine failure, e.g. a defective fuel injector which could lead to a failure of the injection system over a considerable period of time, in which case the motor vehicle would break down), the driver is warned in advance of the imminence of the respective failure by activating an indicator present on the vehicle dashboard, which indicates the type of failure and its imminence when its imminence can be determined, which is not always the case since the imminence of a failure may be random.

[0004] For example, and without limitation, in the case of an imminent fuel exhaustion fault, an indicator indicating that the tank is almost empty is illuminated, and where appropriate, is accompanied by an estimate of the distance that can still be driven. In the case of another fault affecting the engine, the vehicle is automatically placed in a degraded mode, better known by its English name "limp home" mode, so that the vehicle is placed in a position to complete its journey.

[0005] In parallel, the maintenance indicator on the instrument panel lights up, indicating to the driver that repairs at a workshop are necessary.

[0006] Document US-B2-9 014 960 describes a computer-implemented method for managing a navigation system, comprising obtaining an emergency stop request for a vehicle currently traveling on a road network, determining the current position of the vehicle, establishing an emergency profile providing a duration before the emergency stop, determining a maximum distance that can be traveled during the established duration before the emergency stop, and identifying an emergency stop location that falls within the maximum distance.

[0007] This document therefore proposes to associate the detection of an imminent fault with geographical location information, primarily by using a global positioning system or SPG on board the vehicle, also known by the English abbreviation GPS, in order to propose a safe parking position or place for the vehicle.

[0008] However, according to the teaching described in this document, there is a greater risk that the driver chooses a solution that reaches the destination at all costs and then deals with the problem.

[0009] Therefore, if the driver continues driving, the vehicle will stop anywhere, which may be the cause of an accident, causing a significant obstruction of traffic and requiring the intervention of law enforcement officers, taking into account that the location of the failure is usually random (except for the fuel exhaustion failure where the on-board computer indicates how many kilometers can still be driven at the previously recorded average driving speed). Summary of the invention

[0010] Therefore, with respect to document US-B2-9 014 960, the technical problem that arises is that, in the event of a detection of an imminent failure of a motor vehicle, a control unit that is on board the vehicle and has detected the imminent failure can send persuasive information and requests to draw the driver's attention so that the motor vehicle is either stopped at a failure repair structure when the said failure repair structure can be reached by the motor vehicle without risk, or, as long as the vehicle is still in operation, is stopped at a location that provides a safe parking position on the way to the repair structure.

[0011] To this end, the present invention relates to a method for requesting the parking of a motor vehicle, the request being automatically generated and issued by the motor vehicle itself, the method comprising a step of detecting the proximity of at least one fault, a step of geolocating the nearest structure for repairing said at least one fault, a step of indicating to the driver the route to be followed in order to reach the structure after geolocating the position of the motor vehicle and at least one safe parking position on the route of the motor vehicle towards the structure, characterised in that a temporary disabling of the motor vehicle is automatically performed just before the motor vehicle passes said at least one safe parking position or structure in order to prompt the driver to park at said at least one safe parking position or structure.

[0012] A maintenance structure could be a repair shop for an engine failure, or a charging point in case of a dead battery, or a refueling station for a fuel out failure. There may be different types of failures, which can be classified as failures whose proximity is unforeseeable or random (such as an engine failure), or failures whose proximity is foreseeable (such as a fuel out failure).

[0013] For a fault whose proximity is unforeseeable and whose severity is high, it is risky to continue to the repair structure at all costs, whereas in the case of a fault whose proximity is foreseeable, the vehicle's control unit can determine in advance whether the structure can be reached and at what speed. Therefore, these two faults can be handled in different ways.

[0014] A safe parking position is a location where the driver or vehicle will not encounter an accident, unlike a forced random parking, such as in an emergency parking strip of a vehicle. For example, the safe parking may be performed at a highway rest area or in a parking lot that is separated from or not directly adjacent to a lane.

[0015] The method according to the invention allows an engine disablement maneuver to be performed shortly before the motor vehicle with an imminent risk of failure passes a safe parking position, thereby very strongly prompting the driver to park in a safe area while it is still possible to do so.

[0016] A temporary engine disabling maneuver is performed to slow down or even temporarily stop the vehicle before a stopping point chosen for vehicle safety reasons, making it possible to avoid the risk of an accident while bringing the vehicle as close as possible to a service station or repair center, both entities being collectively referred to as a structure.

[0017] This prevents a motor vehicle from breaking down in a position that could be dangerous for the driver, passengers and other road users.

[0018] All this is done to convince the driver to stop the car in a safe area as close as possible to the supply or maintenance point so that repairs can be carried out as quickly as possible.

[0019] The prior art only proposes solutions for driving in a degraded mode in order to protect the vehicle and mainly its engine. Such a degraded mode may consist, for example, in limiting the performance of the motor vehicle in order to allow the vehicle to be returned to a service point in a safe manner for the vehicle and its occupants, and in providing the driver with information about the impending fault by means of a lighted indicator on the dashboard. It does not strongly prompt the driver to stop his driving in a safe position, which is what the method according to the invention proposes to do, whether in a degraded mode or not.

[0020] The closest prior art, shown in document US-B2-9 014 960, therefore associates the detection of an impending fault with geographical location information in order to suggest a place to park the vehicle. Given the impression given to the driver that his motor vehicle is operating normally, there is no suggestion or urging to park the vehicle at a designated place.

[0021] The temporary failure proposed by the invention is not a fault but a temporary simulation of a fault, which allows the driver to be fully aware that a fault may occur at any moment and that they need to seek refuge for themselves and their motor vehicle in order not to get caught in a fault on the roadway itself. When a safe parking area is about to be reached, the sudden action on the engine control device to reduce the engine operation will not fail to prompt the driver in a very strong way to stop the car in a safe area while it is still possible to do so.

[0022] The present invention is therefore novel with respect to document US-B2-9 014 960 and is not obvious based on this document, since this document does not contain any suggestion to act on the engine control device to prompt the driver to stop the car, or any prompting to associate the position of the safe parking position with an action for the operation of the motor vehicle, which is intended to prompt the driver to stop the car in the located safe position.

[0023] Advantageously, the following steps are performed: assessing whether the imminence of the fault is not random and is quantifiable in terms of a duration before the fault occurs and / or a number of kilometres that can still be driven, and when the duration and / or the number of kilometres before the fault occurs would allow the vehicle to reach the structure without stopping, not performing any temporary failure just before the vehicle passes the at least one safe parking position.

[0024] Non-random temporary failures (such as a fuel exhaustion failure or a dead battery failure) are easier to manage because the number of kilometres remaining before failure is known, so driving can be adjusted informed. There is no risk of failure before the calculated number of kilometres.

[0025] For batteries, there are tables that extrapolate the reduction in battery voltage over time, and the time at which the minimum voltage is reached can be known with relative accuracy. This can also be the case with wheels that gradually deflate by losing air. However, most engine failures are random, and their imminence cannot be easily predicted.

[0026] Advantageously, among faults whose proximity is random and not quantifiable, a severity is determined for each fault, a temporary malfunction associated with a fault having a higher severity than another fault having a longer duration and / or a higher malfunction amplitude than the other fault.

[0027] Therefore, random failures require preventive measures, namely stopping the vehicle at the first safe stopping position. However, in the choice of stopping at the first point or stopping later, the severity of the failure may be considered. The magnitude and duration of the temporary failure artificially imposed by the engine control device allows the driver to understand the severity of the failure and take appropriate measures.

[0028] Advantageously, the temporary failure of the motor vehicle just before the vehicle passes the structure is a series of temporary cut-offs of the motor vehicle engine just before the vehicle passes the structure and when, on the one hand, the severity of the fault is maximum for a fault whose proximity is random and not quantifiable, or, on the other hand, when, for a fault whose temporality is non-random and quantifiable in duration and / or kilometres, no other structure is geolocated as reachable within the duration and / or drivable kilometres before the occurrence of the fault.

[0029] This is done to make the driver realize that the danger of the failure is imminent and of great risk and that he will almost have to stop the car in the structure. This failure of the engine to stop intermittently may make them realize the seriousness of the situation.

[0030] Advantageously, when several safe stopping locations have been geolocated on the motor vehicle's route towards the structure, a temporary failure of the motor vehicle just before the motor vehicle passes one of the safe stopping locations will increase in duration and / or magnitude of the failure affecting the vehicle as the motor vehicle progresses along its route.

[0031] This is because, statistically speaking, the more a vehicle is driven, the more imminent a breakdown becomes, which is why drivers need to be made increasingly aware of the need to stop their vehicle in a safe location.

[0032] Advantageously, one or more temporary failures of the motor vehicle involve intermittent shut-off of the vehicle's engine and subsequent normal operation of the engine, and for a motor vehicle operating in thermal engine mode, involve complete shut-off or temporary reduction of fuel injection into the internal combustion engine, and for a motor vehicle operating in electric drive mode, involve shut-off of torque control of the electric motor, so that the motor vehicle moves forward only by coasting in thermal engine drive mode or electric drive mode, respectively, with the engine speed being limited by the engine control unit or by limiting the extent to which the accelerator pedal can be depressed, thereby preventing any re-acceleration.

[0033] Advantageously, temporary failures of the motor vehicle are respectively associated with a fault type, an engine shutdown or a complete cut-off of injection being associated with an imminent fuel exhaustion fault, a limitation of the engine speed or a reduction of injection corresponding to an imminent fault caused by a fault of the injection system, a cut-off of the torque control of the electric motor corresponding to an imminent fault of the traction battery of the electric motor vehicle.

[0034] This helps inform the driver of the type of fault, whether random, and its severity, in addition to displaying the type of fault approaching on the dashboard of the motor vehicle, which can further motivate them to stop at the next safe location.

[0035] Advantageously, the temporary immobilization of the motor vehicle just before the motor vehicle passes the at least one safe parking position or structure occurs in advance for a duration estimated as a function of the current speed of more than ten seconds in order for the at least one safe parking position or structure to be reached by the motor vehicle.

[0036] It is appropriate that the temporary failure setting leaves the driver time to perform the necessary maneuvers to stop the vehicle in a safe position. The duration can be calculated based on the speed of the vehicle.

[0037] Advantageously, the method comprises the step of visually or audibly notifying the driver that an imminent fault has been detected, including mentioning the type of imminent fault detected. This supplements and, if necessary, explains what the imminent fault is.

[0038] The invention relates to a motor vehicle comprising an engine control unit and a vehicle control unit, which implements such a method for requesting parking, the request being generated and issued automatically by the motor vehicle, characterized in that the engine control unit comprises means for detecting the imminence of a failure of the engine or of an element associated with the engine, and the vehicle control unit comprises means for detecting the imminence of a failure other than a failure of the engine or of an element associated with the engine, and means for geolocating the vehicle and the nearest structure for repairing the imminent failure, for generating a route to be followed by the vehicle in order to reach the structure and for locating at least one safe parking position on the route, the two units comprising means for receiving and sending information between them, the engine control unit notifying the vehicle control unit of the imminence of a failure of the engine or of an element associated with the engine, and when one of the two units detects the imminence of a failure, the vehicle control unit sends to the engine control unit a request for temporary disabling of the motor vehicle just before the motor vehicle passes said at least one safe parking position or structure, the vehicle control unit comprises means for terminating the implementation of the method when the vehicle has been parked at said at least one safe parking position or structure, and sending to the engine control unit a request for ending the temporary disabling.

[0039] Basically, it is the vehicle control unit that decides to implement the method after the detection of an imminent fault performed by the vehicle control unit or by an engine control unit, the engine control unit basically being related to a fault affecting the engine or an element associated with the engine. The vehicle control unit also handles the positioning of the vehicle, the positioning of at least one structure for handling the fault and the positioning of a safe parking position.

[0040] However, the implementation of the failures is carried out by the engine control unit at the request of the motor vehicle control unit and these failures essentially concern the engine operating parameters. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] Other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent on reading the following detailed description and examining the accompanying drawings, given as non-limiting examples, in which:

[0042] - Figure 1 is a flow chart of a preferred embodiment of a method according to the present invention for requesting a motor vehicle with an imminent breakdown to stop, the request being automatically generated and issued by the motor vehicle,

[0043] - Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a method for locating a parking position of a motor vehicle with an impending breakdown according to the prior art. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0044] Reference Figure 1 The invention relates to a method for requesting the parking of a motor vehicle, the request being generated and issued automatically by the motor vehicle itself, advantageously by a motor vehicle control unit VCU, which communicates with an engine control unit ECU in order to send it an engine failure request, the engine control unit ECU having the task of implementing these failures of the engine.

[0045] The method comprises the step of detecting the imminence of at least one fault. The fault may have been detected by an engine control unit ECU when the fault relates to the engine or a component associated with the engine, or by a motor vehicle control unit VCU when the fault is not related to the engine.

[0046] The task of the motor vehicle control unit VCU is to carry out the step of geolocating the nearest structure for repairing said at least one fault. This structure would be, for example, a repair shop for various faults, or even a refueling station for a fuel exhaustion fault. This is achieved by using a global positioning system, also known by the English abbreviation GPS, which is on board the motor vehicle.

[0047] Also executed by the motor vehicle control unit VCU, the method comprises a step of indicating to the driver, after the position of the motor vehicle has been geolocated, a route to follow in order to reach the structure. The method also carries out a step of locating at least one safe parking position on the route of the motor vehicle towards the structure, advantageously a plurality of safe parking positions distributed on the route that the vehicle must follow towards the structure.

[0048] According to the invention, a temporary disabling of the motor vehicle is automatically performed just before the motor vehicle passes the at least one safe parking location or structure, thereby prompting the driver to park the vehicle at the at least one safe parking location or structure.

[0049] A temporary malfunction may take several forms, the important thing is that it makes the vehicle operator aware that his vehicle may be experiencing a malfunction, even if the temporary malfunction is not related to an imminent malfunction.

[0050] This is done prior to passing the location or structure to allow the driver time to maneuver toward a safe stopping location or structure.

[0051] A temporary failure of the motor vehicle just before the motor vehicle passes the at least one safe parking position or structure may occur, for example, in advance for a duration estimated based on the current speed of more than ten seconds so that the at least one safe parking position or structure is reached by the motor vehicle, which allows the driver to perform corresponding maneuvers to enter the safe parking position from a lane with fast-moving traffic (e.g. a highway).

[0052] If the proximity of the fault is non-random and can be quantified by a duration and / or a number of kilometres that can be driven before the fault occurs, the evaluation step can be performed. When the duration and / or the number of kilometres that can be driven before the fault occurs allow the vehicle to reach the structure without stopping, no temporary failure is performed just before the vehicle passes the at least one safe parking position.

[0053] This applies, for example, to a fuel exhaustion fault. By estimating the upcoming fuel consumption by the engine control unit ECU, advantageously based on the average recent fuel consumption, the kilometres still to be driven can be known with certainty, especially if the kilometres to be driven can be corrected according to the new fuel consumption achieved.

[0054] Special situations may arise. If the vehicle is able to reach its final destination, for example if the impendingness of the targeted fault is quantifiable, the motor vehicle control unit VCU may decide not to request the vehicle to stop in a safe parking position and therefore not to execute one or more temporary failures.

[0055] In order not to unnecessarily stop the vehicle in a safe parking position if the minor severity of the fault would allow the vehicle to travel to the structure, a severity is determined for each fault.

[0056] A temporary malfunction associated with a fault that is more severe than another fault may have a longer duration and / or a higher magnitude of malfunction than the other fault. Therefore, if the malfunction is more significant, indicating the imminence of a serious fault, the driver will be more inclined to stop the car in a safe parking position.

[0057] In order to strongly encourage the driver to stop for a highly severe non-quantifiable fault or for a quantifiable fault for which only a structure to be present can remedy the fault, the temporary breakdown of the motor vehicle just before the motor vehicle passes the structure may be a temporary shutdown of the motor vehicle engine.

[0058] This situation applies when there are no other reachable structures on the route and indicates to the driver the danger of continuing without finding a solution to the impending fault.

[0059] This temporary stoppage may occur just before the vehicle passes the structure. Thus, in the first case, this may be done when the severity of the fault is at its maximum for a fault whose proximity is random and not quantifiable. In the other case, this may be done when no other structure is geographically located as reachable within the duration and / or drivable kilometers before the fault occurs for a fault whose temporality is non-random and quantifiable in duration and / or kilometers.

[0060] When several safe stop locations have been geolocated on the motor vehicle's route toward a structure, a temporary malfunction of the motor vehicle just before the motor vehicle passes one of the safe stop locations will increase in duration and / or magnitude of the malfunction affecting the vehicle as the motor vehicle progresses along its route.

[0061] Indeed, the longer a motor vehicle is driven, the more likely it is that the vehicle will experience an imminent breakdown, so the advantage of alerting the vehicle driver that a breakdown could occur at any time is that he or she is better off parking the vehicle in a safe parking position rather than having it break down in the driveway.

[0062] One or more temporary failures of a motor vehicle may involve intermittent shut-off of the vehicle's engine and subsequent normal operation of the engine. This may act as a strong temporary failure that highly encourages the driver to stop the vehicle.

[0063] For a motor vehicle driven by a heat engine, it is also possible to completely cut off or temporarily reduce the injection of fuel to the internal combustion engine, for example but not limited to 3 seconds of cut off for 10 seconds of injection, and repeat it several times or not.

[0064] Similar to the above measures, for electric motors, torque control of cutting off the electric motors can also be implemented for motor vehicles running by electric drive, for example but not limited to 3 seconds of cutting off every 10 seconds, and repeated several times, or not repeated.

[0065] This may allow the motor vehicle to coast forward only or at intervals in thermal drive mode or in electric drive mode.

[0066] It may also be implemented to limit the engine speed by the engine control unit or to prevent any re-acceleration by limiting the extent to which the accelerator pedal can be depressed.

[0067] All these measures can be carried out by the engine control unit ECU, advantageously at the request of the motor vehicle control unit VCU.

[0068] These temporary malfunctions of the motor vehicle may each be associated with a fault type to represent this fault type. This may allow the driver to identify the fault and, where appropriate, also allow the driver to be misled by these temporary malfunctions, which the driver may recognize as early signs of an impending fault.

[0069] For example, an engine shutdown or complete shutoff of injection may be associated with an imminent fuel exhaustion fault. A limitation of engine speed or a reduction in injection may correspond to an imminent fault caused by an injection system fault.

[0070] Likewise, a disengagement of torque control of the electric motor may correspond to an imminent failure of the traction battery of the electric motor vehicle.

[0071] Figure 1 An example of a flow chart of exchanges between a motor vehicle control unit VCU and an engine control unit ECU for implementing the above-described method according to the invention is shown.

[0072] Starting from a nominal state denoted 1, which is the initial state after the ECU unit has been switched on, for example after opening a door or inserting an ignition key, for each of the two units VCU, ECU, a determination of an impending fault is performed in each unit 2. If the answer is no N, the method returns to nominal state 1, if the answer is yes O, the engine control unit ECU remains in nominal mode and a step of transmitting information about an impending fault to the motor vehicle control unit VCU is performed, which is Figure 1 It is recorded as 3.

[0073] The arrows between the two units ECU, VCU show the information transmission from the engine control unit ECU to the motor vehicle control unit VCU. A similar situation is symmetrical for the opposite arrows between the two units ECU, VCU.

[0074] After receiving this information, for the motor vehicle control unit VCU, if the answer is no N, the method returns to the nominal state 1, and if the answer is yes O, the motor vehicle control unit VCU performs a step for determining when and where the motor vehicle needs to stop, which is Figure 1 It is recorded as 4.

[0075] A determination is then performed in the motor vehicle control unit VCU to determine whether the vehicle is traveling in the vicinity of a safe parking position, that is, is about to pass the safe parking position, which is Figure 1 The number is recorded as 5.

[0076] If the answer is no N, the method returns to the step 4 for determining when and where the motor vehicle needs to stop. If the answer is yes O, the motor vehicle control unit VCU performs a step of transmitting information to the engine control unit ECU, which is Figure 1 The number is recorded as 6.

[0077] In the engine control unit ECU, after receiving the information sent by the vehicle control unit VCU, a determination is performed to know whether information about the proximity of a safe parking position on the route of the vehicle has actually been received from the motor vehicle control unit VCU, which Figure 1 The number is recorded as 7.

[0078] If the answer is no N, the method returns to before step 3 of transmitting information to the motor vehicle control unit VCU. If the answer is yes O, the engine control unit ECU performs a step of implementing at least one temporary failure, which Figure 1 The middle one is recorded as 8 to encourage the driver to stop the vehicle in a safe parking position near the vehicle.

[0079] Now back in the motor vehicle control unit VCU, a determination is made to see whether the vehicle has left and passed the safe parking position. Figure 1 The number is recorded as 9.

[0080] If the answer is no, then continue to send a parking instruction to the ECU. If the answer is yes, then the method proceeds to step 10. In step 10, in the motor vehicle control unit VCU, the method returns to before step 4 for determining when and where the motor vehicle needs to stop, and executes the step of transmitting this information to the engine control unit ECU.

[0081] In the engine control unit ECU, after receiving the information, a determination is performed to know whether the information related to the vehicle having left the safe parking position has actually been received from the motor vehicle control unit VCU. Figure 1 It is recorded as 11.

[0082] If the answer is no N, the method returns to the step before implementing at least one temporary failure, which Figure 1 The value is recorded as 8. The application of temporary failure can therefore continue.

[0083] If the answer is yes O, the method returns to before step 3 of transmitting information about an impending fault to the motor vehicle control unit VCU, and is therefore in a state of notifying the motor vehicle control unit VCU to find a new safe parking area.

[0084] Combine it with Figure 2 For comparison, Figure 2 A flow chart according to the prior art is shown and corresponds to document US B2 9014 960. Figure 2 Some of the steps shown in Figure 1 This is explained in .

[0085] Figure 2 A flow chart is shown of exchanges between a motor vehicle control unit VCU and an engine control unit ECU for implementing a method according to the closest prior art.

[0086] Starting from the nominal state for both units, denoted 1, a decision 2 of an impending fault is performed in each of the ECU, VCU units. If the answer is no N, the method returns to the nominal state 1, if the answer is yes O, the engine control unit ECU remains in nominal mode and a step of transmitting information about an impending fault to the motor vehicle control unit VCU is performed, which is Figure 2 It is recorded as 3.

[0087] The series of steps ends here as far as the engine control unit is concerned. Unlike the method according to the invention, there is no step of implementing at least one temporary failure, which was previously Figure 1 The middle number is 8.

[0088] The arrow between the transmission step 3 in the engine control unit ECU and the decision 2 on an imminent fault in the vehicle control unit VCU shows the transmission of information from the engine control unit ECU to the motor vehicle control unit VCU.

[0089] For the motor vehicle control unit VCU, if the answer is no N, the method returns to the nominal state 1, and if the answer is yes O, the motor vehicle control unit VCU performs steps for determining when and where the motor vehicle needs to stop, which is Figure 2 It is recorded as 4.

[0090] Then, a determination is performed in the motor vehicle control unit VCU to determine whether the vehicle is near a safe parking position. Figure 2 The number is recorded as 5.

[0091] If the answer is no N, the method returns to before step 4 for determining when and where the motor vehicle needs to stop. If the answer is yes O, the motor vehicle control unit VCU performs a step 12 of notifying the driver of this approach to the stop, which is of course different from the step of transmitting information to the engine control unit ECU if the vehicle is near a safe position (this step is in Figure 1 6), so that the engine control unit ECU can Figure 1 One or more temporary failures are implemented in the step denoted as 8.

[0092] It can be seen that the prior art does not take any steps for implementing at least one temporary failure, which is an essential feature of the present invention, previously described in Figure 1 The middle number is 8.

[0093] In the context of the present invention, the method may include the step of visually or audibly notifying the driver that an imminent fault has been detected, including mentioning the type of imminent fault detected, but this is merely optional.

[0094] The invention therefore relates to a motor vehicle comprising an engine control unit ECU and a vehicle control unit VCU, which vehicle implements such a method for requesting parking, the request being automatically generated and issued by the motor vehicle.

[0095] The engine control unit ECU comprises means for detecting the imminence of a failure of the engine or an element associated with the engine, and the vehicle control unit VCU comprises means for detecting the imminence of a failure other than a failure of the engine or an element associated with the engine.

[0096] Indeed, in the context of the present invention, the fault may not be an engine fault and the monitoring of an imminent fault not caused by the engine may also be performed by the motor vehicle control unit VCU.

[0097] The motor vehicle control unit VCU also comprises means for geolocating the vehicle and the nearest structure for repairing the imminent fault, for generating a route for the vehicle to follow in order to reach the structure and for locating at least one safe parking position on the route.

[0098] The two units ECU, VCU comprise means for receiving and sending information between them, the engine control unit ECU notifying the vehicle control unit VCU of an approaching failure of the engine or of an element associated with the engine, and when one of the two units ECU, VCU detects an approaching failure, the vehicle control unit VCU sends a request to the engine control unit ECU for temporarily disabling the motor vehicle just before the motor vehicle passes through said at least one safe parking position or structure.

[0099] Finally, the vehicle control unit VCU comprises means for terminating the implementation of the method when the vehicle has stopped in said at least one safe parking position or structure and sending a request to end the temporary disablement to the engine control unit ECU.

Claims

1. A method for requesting the parking of a motor vehicle, said request being automatically generated and issued by said motor vehicle itself, said method comprising the steps of detecting the proximity of at least one fault, geolocating the nearest structure for repairing said at least one fault, indicating to the driver the route to be followed in order to reach said structure after geolocating the position of the motor vehicle and at least one safe parking position on the route of the motor vehicle towards said structure, characterized in that Immediately before the motor vehicle passes the at least one safe parking location or structure, a temporary disabling of the motor vehicle is automatically performed in order to prompt the driver to park the vehicle at the at least one safe parking location or structure.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The following steps are performed: assessing whether the proximity of the fault is not random and can be quantified in terms of a duration before the fault occurs and / or a number of kilometres that can still be driven, and when the duration and / or the number of kilometres before the fault occurs would allow the vehicle to reach the structure without stopping, not performing any temporary failure just before the vehicle passes the at least one safe parking position.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: Among faults whose proximity is random and unquantifiable, a severity is determined for each fault, a temporary malfunction associated with a fault having a higher severity than another fault having a longer duration and / or a higher malfunction magnitude than the other fault.

4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that: In the case of faults whose proximity is random and not quantifiable, a severity is determined for each fault, the temporary failure associated with a fault having a higher severity than another fault has a longer duration and / or a higher failure amplitude than the other fault and just before the vehicle passes the structure, and the temporary failure of the motor vehicle just before the motor vehicle passes the structure is a temporary shutdown of the engine of the motor vehicle when, on the one hand, the severity of the fault is maximum for the fault whose proximity is random and not quantifiable, or, on the other hand, when, for the fault whose temporariness is non-random and quantifiable in duration and / or kilometres, no other structure is geographically located as reachable within the duration and / or drivable kilometres before the occurrence of the fault.

5. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: When several safe stop locations have been geolocated on the motor vehicle's route toward a structure, a temporary malfunction of the motor vehicle just before the motor vehicle passes one of the safe stop locations will increase in duration and / or magnitude of the malfunction affecting the vehicle as the motor vehicle progresses along its route.

6. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: One or more temporary failures of the motor vehicle involve intermittent shut-off of the vehicle's engine and subsequent normal operation of the engine, and for a motor vehicle operating in thermal engine mode, involve completely shutting off or temporarily reducing the injection of fuel into the internal combustion engine, and for a motor vehicle operating in electric drive mode, involve shutting off the torque control of the electric motor, so that the motor vehicle moves forward only by coasting in thermal engine drive mode or electric drive mode, respectively, with the engine speed being limited by the engine control unit or by limiting the extent to which the accelerator pedal can be depressed, thereby preventing any re-acceleration.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that Temporary failures of the motor vehicle are respectively associated with a fault type, an engine shutdown or a complete cut-off of injection is associated with an imminent fuel exhaustion fault, a limitation of the engine speed or a reduction of injection corresponds to an imminent fault caused by a fault in the injection system, a cut-off of the torque control of the electric motor corresponds to an imminent fault of the traction battery of the electric motor vehicle.

8. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The temporary failure of the motor vehicle just before the motor vehicle passes the at least one safe stopping position or structure occurs in advance for a duration estimated based on the current speed in order for the at least one safe stopping position or structure to be reached by the motor vehicle.

9. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: It includes the step of visually or audibly notifying the driver that an imminent fault has been detected, including mentioning the type of imminent fault detected.

10. A motor vehicle comprising an engine control unit and a vehicle control unit, the vehicle implementing a method for requesting a motor vehicle to stop as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, the request being automatically generated and issued by the motor vehicle, characterized in that: The engine control unit comprises means for detecting the imminence of a failure of the engine or of an element associated with the engine, and the vehicle control unit comprises means for detecting the imminence of a failure other than a failure of the engine or of an element associated with the engine, and means for geolocating the vehicle and the nearest structure for repairing the imminent failure, means for generating a route to be followed by the vehicle in order to reach the structure and means for locating at least one safe parking position on the route, the engine control unit and the vehicle control unit comprising means for receiving and sending information between them, the engine control unit notifying the vehicle control unit of the imminence of a failure of the engine or of an element associated with the engine, and when one of the engine control unit and the vehicle control unit detects the imminence of a failure, the vehicle control unit sends to the engine control unit a request to temporarily disable the motor vehicle just before the motor vehicle passes the at least one safe parking position or structure, the vehicle control unit comprises means for terminating the implementation of the method when the vehicle has been parked at the at least one safe parking position or structure, and sending to the engine control unit a request to end the temporary disablement.

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