Gear position control device and method for driverless car

Abstract

The present invention provides a shift control device for an unmanned vehicle, comprising a shift device and a controller for controlling the shift device; the shift device comprises: a shift control module, an electronic handbrake switch control module and a gear unlocking button control module; the electronic handbrake switch control module comprises a wire-controlled switch for placing the electronic handbrake in an automatic mode, and a mode switching device for controlling the switching between a manual mode and an automatic mode; the wire-controlled switch releases the handbrake based on a first level signal received from the controller; the gear unlocking button control module comprises a gear unlocking button and a first relay; the first relay simulates the gear unlocking button being pressed or released based on a second level control signal received from the controller. The shift control device and method for an unmanned vehicle of the present invention can meet the requirements of unmanned driving tests with a single shift device, has a more complete gear control system, and has high scalability and practicality, and can be applied to different vehicle models.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of unmanned vehicle design, and in particular to a gear position control device and method for an unmanned vehicle. Background Art

[0002] At present, driverless technology is developing rapidly around the world. Domestic and foreign automobile companies and universities are actively exploring solutions for driverless driving in various application fields. The exploration of driverless technology is mainly based on an driverless platform built on the basis of ordinary cars, that is, exploring how to convert ordinary cars into driverless cars. Among them, how to control the gear is the focus of the modification.

[0003] There are two main ways to modify the gear control in the prior art: add-on and retrofit. The add-on method is to add an additional mechanical structure without changing the original gear structure, and realize the shifting of the driverless car by controlling the additional mechanical structure; the retrofit method is to redesign the entire set of driverless shifting devices. Due to cost and operability factors, the shifting structure adopted by most solutions at present is the add-on type. The add-on shifting structure in the prior art is a modification that uses a mechanical structure to simulate the gear operation behavior of a human driver. This modification method generally ignores the need for joint control of the electronic handbrake and the gear unlocking button when shifting, and thus cannot meet the requirements of driverless testing with a single modification mode.

[0004] Therefore, how to take into account the control of the electronic handbrake and the gear unlocking button when modifying the shifting structure so as to meet the requirements of unmanned driving testing with a single shifting device is an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of the shortcomings of the prior art mentioned above, an object of the present invention is to provide a gear control device and method for an unmanned vehicle, which is used to solve the problem that the shift structure in the prior art does not take into account the control of the electronic handbrake and the gear unlocking button during modification, thereby failing to meet the requirements of unmanned driving tests with a single shift device.

[0006] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose and other related purposes, the present invention provides a gear control device for an unmanned vehicle, comprising a gear shifting device and a controller for controlling the gear shifting device; the gear shifting device comprises: a gear shifting control module, an electronic handbrake switch control module and a gear unlocking button control module; the electronic handbrake switch control module comprises a manual control switch for putting the electronic handbrake in manual mode, a wire control switch for putting the electronic handbrake in automatic mode, and a mode switching device for controlling the switching between the manual mode and the automatic mode; wherein: the handbrake is released when the manual control switch is pressed and released; the wire control switch releases the handbrake based on a first level signal received from the controller; the gear unlocking button control module comprises a gear unlocking button and a first relay; wherein the first relay simulates the gear unlocking button being pressed or released based on a second level control signal received from the controller.

[0007] In one embodiment of the present invention, the mode switching device includes a toggle switch; the modified module connected to the mode switching device includes an original common terminal, an original normally open terminal and an original normally closed terminal; the line-controlled switch includes a first common terminal, a first normally open terminal and a first normally closed terminal; the manual control switch includes a second common terminal, a second normally open terminal and a second normally closed terminal; the first common pin of the toggle switch is connected to the original common terminal; the second common pin of the toggle switch is connected to the first common terminal; the third common pin of the toggle switch is connected to the second common terminal; the first normally closed terminal is connected to the original normally closed terminal; the second normally closed terminal is connected to the original normally closed terminal; the first normally open terminal is connected to the original normally open terminal; the second normally open terminal is connected to the original normally open terminal.

[0008] In one embodiment of the present invention, the wire-controlled switch releases the handbrake based on the first level signal received from the controller, and is specifically used for: when the button switch and the first common terminal are connected, the controller sends the first high level control signal to the wire-controlled switch to short-circuit the first common terminal and the first normally open terminal; the controller then sends the first low level control signal to the wire-controlled switch to disconnect the first common terminal and the first normally open terminal to release the handbrake.

[0009] In one embodiment of the present invention, the first relay of the gear unlocking button control module includes a third common terminal, a third normally closed terminal and a third normally open terminal. The first relay simulates the gear unlocking button being pressed or released based on the second level control signal received from the controller, and is specifically used for: when the first relay receives the second high level control signal from the controller, the third common terminal and the third normally open terminal are short-circuited to unlock the vehicle gear; when the first relay receives the second low level control signal from the controller, the third common terminal and the third normally open terminal are disconnected to lock the vehicle gear.

[0010] Correspondingly, the present invention provides a gear shift control method for an unmanned vehicle, comprising the following steps: obtaining a gear shift instruction; determining whether it is necessary to release the vehicle handbrake state; when it is confirmed that the vehicle handbrake state needs to be released, controlling the vehicle to release the handbrake based on a first level control signal; when it is confirmed that it is not necessary to release the vehicle handbrake state, controlling the vehicle gear to be unlocked based on a second level control signal; controlling the vehicle to perform a corresponding gear shift based on the gear shift instruction; and after the gear shift is completed, controlling the vehicle gear to be locked based on a third level control signal.

[0011] In one embodiment of the present invention, the controlling of the automobile to perform a corresponding gear movement based on the gear movement instruction includes: controlling the automobile to perform a corresponding gear movement according to a correspondence between the pre-stored automobile gear, the angle of rotation of the servo at the position of the automobile gear, and the duty cycle of the output pulse width modulation signal, and the gear movement instruction.

[0012] In one embodiment of the present invention, before obtaining the gear shift instruction, it also includes: determining the position of each gear of the unmanned vehicle according to the model of the unmanned vehicle; moving the shift handle according to the position, and determining the rotation angle of the servo when the shift handle moves to the position and the duty cycle of the output pulse width modulation signal; storing the corresponding relationship between the vehicle gear, the rotation angle of the servo at the position of the vehicle gear, and the duty cycle of the output pulse width modulation signal to the server.

[0013] In one embodiment of the present invention, when it is confirmed that the handbrake state of the car needs to be released, based on the first level control signal, the car is controlled to release the handbrake, including: when the handbrake state of the car is the handbrake pull state, toggle the button switch to connect to the wire control switch; send a first high level control signal to the wire control switch to short-circuit the first common terminal and the first normally open terminal of the wire control switch; and then send a first low level control signal to disconnect the first common terminal and the first normally open terminal, thereby controlling the car to release the handbrake.

[0014] The present invention provides a storage medium on which a computer program is stored. When the program is executed by a processor, the above-mentioned shift control method of the driverless car is implemented.

[0015] The present invention provides an electronic device, comprising a memory for storing a computer program; and a processor for running the computer program to implement the above-mentioned shift control method for an unmanned vehicle.

[0016] As described above, the shift control device and method of the driverless car of the present invention have the following beneficial effects:

[0017] (1) The combined control of the electronic parking brake and the gear unlocking button during gear shifting is considered, thereby providing a more complete gear control system.

[0018] (2) It can meet the requirements of unmanned driving tests with a single gear shift device, has high scalability and practicality, and can be applied to different vehicle models. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 Shown is a schematic diagram of the structure of a gear shift control device for an unmanned vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 2 Shown is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic handbrake switch control module in an embodiment of a shift control device for an unmanned vehicle of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 3 Shown is a schematic structural diagram of a gear unlocking button control module of a gear shift control device for an unmanned vehicle of the present invention in one embodiment.

[0022] Figure 4 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the operation of a shift control module of a shift control device for an unmanned vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 5 Shown is a flow chart of a gear shift control method for an unmanned vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 6 Shown is a control platform of an embodiment of the shift control device and method for an unmanned vehicle of the present invention.

[0025] Component number description

[0026] 11 Controller

[0027] 12 Gear shifter

[0028] 13 Shift control module

[0029] 14 Electronic parking brake switch control module

[0030] 15-position unlock button control module

[0031] 16 Manual control switch

[0032] 17 Line control switch

[0033] 18 Mode switch

[0034] 41 Servo

[0035] 42 Motion conversion device

[0036] 43 Connecting device

[0037] 44 Shift handle

[0038] 61 Processor

[0039] 62 Memory DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] The following describes the embodiments of the present invention by specific examples, and those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the contents disclosed in this specification. The present invention can also be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and the details in this specification can also be modified or changed in various ways based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It should be noted that the following embodiments and features in the embodiments can be combined with each other without conflict.

[0041] It should be noted that the illustrations provided in the following embodiments are only schematic illustrations of the basic concept of the present invention, and thus the drawings only show components related to the present invention rather than being drawn according to the number, shape and size of components in actual implementation. In actual implementation, the type, quantity and proportion of each component may be changed arbitrarily, and the component layout may also be more complicated.

[0042] The shift control device and method for the driverless car of the present invention are based on the existing add-on shift structure, and take into account the joint control of the electronic handbrake and the gear unlocking button during gear shifting; thereby, a single shift device can meet the requirements of the driverless driving test, have a more complete gear control system, and have high scalability and practicality, and can be applied to different vehicle models.

[0043] like Figure 1 As shown, in this embodiment, the gear shift control device of the driverless car of the present invention includes: a gear shift device 12 and a controller 11 that controls the gear shift device; the gear shift device 12 includes: a gear shift control module 13, an electronic handbrake switch control module 14 and a gear unlock button control module 15.

[0044] The electronic handbrake switch control module 14 includes a manual control switch 16 for putting the electronic handbrake in manual mode, a wire control switch 17 for putting the electronic handbrake in automatic mode, and a mode switching device 18 for controlling the switching between the manual mode and the automatic mode; wherein: the handbrake is released when the manual control switch 16 is pressed and released; the wire control switch 17 releases the handbrake based on a first level signal received from the controller 11; the gear unlock button control module 15 includes a gear unlock button and a first relay; wherein the first relay simulates the gear unlock button being pressed or released based on a second level control signal received from the controller 11.

[0045] Specifically, Figure 2 As shown, in this embodiment, the mode switching device 18 includes a toggle switch; the modified module connected to the mode switching device includes an original common terminal, an original normally open terminal and an original normally closed terminal; the line control switch 17 includes a first common terminal, a first normally open terminal and a first normally closed terminal; the manual control switch 16 includes a second common terminal, a second normally open terminal and a second normally closed terminal; the first common pin of the toggle switch is connected to the original common terminal; the second common pin of the toggle switch is connected to the first common terminal; the third common pin of the toggle switch is connected to the second common terminal; the first normally closed terminal is connected to the original normally closed terminal; the second normally closed terminal is connected to the original normally closed terminal; the first normally open terminal is connected to the original normally open terminal; the second normally open terminal is connected to the original normally open terminal. Among them, since the electronic handbrake switches of most cars use two non-self-locking micro switches, these two micro switches are used to pull the handbrake and release the handbrake respectively, and both switches have two mutually exclusive states: normally open and normally closed; therefore, when adding an electronic handbrake switch control module, it is necessary to remove the original micro switch used to release the handbrake, and lead out its three pins: the original common terminal, the original normally open terminal and the original normally closed terminal. The micro switch removed here is the modified module connected to the mode switching device.

[0046] Further specifically, the wire-controlled switch 17 releases the handbrake based on the first level signal received from the controller 11, and is specifically used for: when the button switch and the first common terminal are connected, the controller 11 sends the first high level control signal to the wire-controlled switch 17 to short-circuit the first common terminal and the first normally open terminal; the controller 11 then sends the first low level control signal to the wire-controlled switch 17 to disconnect the first common terminal and the first normally open terminal to release the handbrake.

[0047] More specifically, if Figure 3As shown, in this embodiment, the first relay of the gear unlocking button control module includes a third common terminal, a third normally closed terminal and a third normally open terminal. The first relay simulates the gear unlocking button being pressed or released based on the second level control signal received from the controller, and is specifically used for: when the first relay receives the second high level control signal from the controller, the third common terminal and the third normally open terminal are short-circuited to unlock the vehicle gear; when the first relay receives the second low level control signal from the controller, the third common terminal and the third normally open terminal are disconnected to lock the vehicle gear.

[0048] After the above operations, the handbrake of the driverless car has been released, and the gear is in a free switching state. After that, the handle shifting operation of the driverless car can be completed by executing the handle shifting operation through the shift control module. The specific details are as follows.

[0049] like Figure 4 As shown, in this embodiment, the shift control module includes a control drive mechanism, a rotational motion to linear motion conversion device (hereinafter referred to as "motion conversion device") and a shift handle connecting device (hereinafter referred to as "connecting device"). The control drive mechanism is a servo, which is arranged in the longitudinal movement direction of the shift handle; the connecting device is a metal block whose shape fits the shift handle, fixedly connected to the shift handle, and located between the shift handle and the control drive mechanism; the motion conversion device includes two angular ball joints and a stud, one end of the two angular ball joints is respectively connected to the stud; the other end is respectively connected to the rudder arm of the servo and the metal block; the motion conversion device connects the control drive mechanism and the shift handle, converts the rotational motion of the control drive mechanism into the linear motion of the connecting device, thereby driving the shift handle to move; the device can realize the longitudinal free movement of the shift handle, with a simple structure, small size and high transmission efficiency.

[0050] like Figure 5 As shown, in this embodiment, the shift control method of the driverless car of the present invention includes the following steps:

[0051] Step S1, obtaining a gear shift instruction;

[0052] More specifically, before obtaining the gear shift instruction, it also includes: determining the position of each gear of the unmanned vehicle according to the model of the unmanned vehicle; moving the shift handle according to the position, and determining the rotation angle of the servo when the shift handle moves to the position and the duty cycle of the output pulse width modulation signal; storing the correspondence between the vehicle gear, the rotation angle of the servo at the position of the vehicle gear, and the duty cycle of the output pulse width modulation signal to the server.

[0053] Step S2, determining whether the vehicle handbrake state needs to be released;

[0054] Step S3: when it is confirmed that the handbrake state of the vehicle needs to be released, based on the first level control signal, controlling the vehicle to release the handbrake;

[0055] Specifically, when the handbrake state of the automobile is the handbrake pull state, the button switch is toggled to connect to the wire-controlled switch; a first high-level control signal is sent to the wire-controlled switch to short-circuit the first common terminal and the first normally open terminal of the wire-controlled switch; and a first low-level control signal is sent to disconnect the first common terminal and the first normally open terminal, thereby controlling the automobile to release the handbrake. In addition, the button switch can be connected to the wire-controlled switch or the manual control switch according to the command of the controller. When connected to the manual control switch, the handbrake is released when the manual control switch is pressed and released.

[0056] Step S4: when it is confirmed that the vehicle handbrake state does not need to be released, based on the second level control signal, controlling the vehicle gear to unlock;

[0057] Specifically, when there is no need to release the car handbrake state, the controller sends a second level control signal to the gear unlocking button control module, so that the common terminal and the normally open terminal of the first relay of the gear unlocking button control module are short-circuited to simulate the gear unlocking button being pressed, thereby unlocking the car gear.

[0058] Step S5, controlling the vehicle to move to a corresponding gear based on the gear movement instruction;

[0059] Specifically, according to the pre-stored correspondence between the vehicle gear, the rotation angle of the servo at the position of the vehicle gear and the duty cycle of the output pulse width modulation signal, and the gear movement instruction, a pulse width modulation signal with a corresponding duty cycle is output to the servo, the servo rotates to different angles, and the motion conversion device is driven forward or backward by the rudder arm, thereby driving the shift handle to move the corresponding gear.

[0060] Step S6: After the gear shift is completed, based on the third level control signal, control the vehicle gear to be locked.

[0061] Specifically, after the shift handle moves to the corresponding gear position, the controller sends a third level control signal to the gear unlock button control module, disconnecting the common terminal and the normally open terminal of the first relay of the gear unlock button control module to simulate the gear unlock button being released, thereby locking the vehicle gear.

[0062] The storage medium of the present invention stores a computer program, and when the program is executed by a processor, the above-mentioned method for placing the ship cable penetration piece is implemented.

[0063] like Figure 6As shown, in this embodiment, the control platform of the present invention includes: a processor 61 and a memory 62 .

[0064] The memory 62 is used to store computer programs.

[0065] The memory 62 includes: ROM, RAM, disk, USB flash drive, memory card or optical disk, etc., which can store program codes.

[0066] The processor 61 is connected to the memory 62 and is used to execute the computer program stored in the memory 62 so that the electronic device executes the above-mentioned method for placing the ship cable penetration piece.

[0067] Preferably, the processor 61 can be a general-purpose processor, including a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), etc.; it can also be a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components.

[0068] In summary, the shift control device and method of the driverless car of the present invention is based on the existing added shift structure, and takes into account the joint control of the electronic handbrake and the gear unlocking button during the shift; thus, a single shift device can meet the requirements of the driverless test, and has a more complete gear control system, and has high scalability and practicality, and can be applied to different models. Therefore, the present invention effectively overcomes various shortcomings in the prior art and has a high industrial utilization value.

[0069] The above embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and effects of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone familiar with the art may modify or alter the above embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent modifications or alterations made by a person of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and technical concept disclosed by the present invention shall still be covered by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A gear shift control device for an unmanned vehicle, characterized in that: include: A gear shifting device and a controller for controlling the gear shifting device; the gear shifting device comprises: a gear shifting control module, an electronic handbrake switch control module and a gear unlocking button control module; The electronic handbrake switch control module includes a manual control switch for putting the electronic handbrake in manual mode, a wire control switch for putting the electronic handbrake in automatic mode, and a mode switching device for controlling the switching between the manual mode and the automatic mode; The mode switching device includes a toggle switch, and the modified module connected to the mode switching device includes an original common terminal, an original normally open terminal, and an original normally closed terminal; the line control switch includes a first common terminal, a first normally open terminal, and a first normally closed terminal; the manual control switch includes a second common terminal, a second normally open terminal, and a second normally closed terminal; the first common pin of the toggle switch is connected to the original common terminal; the second common pin of the toggle switch is connected to the first common terminal; the third common pin of the toggle switch is connected to the second common terminal; the first normally closed terminal is connected to the original normally closed terminal; the second normally closed terminal is connected to the original normally closed terminal; the first normally open terminal is connected to the original normally open terminal; the second normally open terminal is connected to the original normally open terminal; in: The handbrake is released when the manual control switch is pressed and released; The wire-controlled switch releases the handbrake based on the first level signal received from the controller, wherein the wire-controlled switch releases the handbrake based on the first level signal received from the controller, specifically for: when the button switch and the first common terminal are connected, the controller sends a first high-level control signal to the wire-controlled switch to short-circuit the first common terminal and the first normally open terminal; the controller then sends a first low-level control signal to the wire-controlled switch to disconnect the first common terminal and the first normally open terminal to release the handbrake; The gear unlock button control module includes a gear unlock button and a first relay; wherein the first relay simulates the gear unlock button being pressed or released based on a second level control signal received from the controller.

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The first relay of the gear unlocking button control module includes a third common terminal, a third normally closed terminal and a third normally open terminal. The first relay simulates the gear unlocking button being pressed or released based on the second level control signal received from the controller, and is specifically used for: When the first relay receives a second high-level control signal from the controller, the third common terminal and the third normally open terminal are short-circuited to unlock the vehicle gear position; When the first relay receives a second low-level control signal from the controller, the third common terminal and the third normally open terminal are disconnected to lock the vehicle gear position.

3. A shift control method for an unmanned vehicle, characterized in that it includes: Get gear shift instruction; Determine whether the vehicle handbrake state needs to be released; When it is confirmed that the handbrake state of the vehicle needs to be released, based on the first level control signal, the vehicle is controlled to release the handbrake, wherein, when it is confirmed that the handbrake state of the vehicle needs to be released, based on the first level control signal, the vehicle is controlled to release the handbrake, including: when the handbrake state of the vehicle is the handbrake pull state, toggle the button switch to connect to the wire-controlled switch; the wire-controlled switch includes a first common terminal and a first normally open terminal; the wire-controlled switch releases the handbrake based on the first level signal received from the controller, specifically used for: when the button switch and the first common terminal are connected, the controller sends a first high level control signal to the wire-controlled switch to short-circuit the first common terminal and the first normally open terminal; the controller then sends a first low level control signal to the wire-controlled switch to disconnect the first common terminal and the first normally open terminal to release the handbrake; When it is confirmed that the vehicle handbrake state does not need to be released, based on the second level control signal, the vehicle gear is controlled to be unlocked; Controlling the vehicle to move to a corresponding gear based on the gear movement instruction; After the gear shift is completed, the vehicle gear is controlled to be locked based on a third level control signal.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The controlling the vehicle to perform corresponding gear movement based on the gear movement instruction includes: According to the pre-stored correspondence between the vehicle gear, the rotation angle of the servo at the position of the vehicle gear and the duty cycle of the output pulse width modulation signal, and the gear shift instruction, the vehicle is controlled to perform corresponding gear shift.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that Before obtaining the gear shift instruction, the method further includes: Determining the position of each gear of the driverless car according to the model of the driverless car; According to the position, move the shift handle to determine the rotation angle of the servo when the shift handle moves to the position and the duty cycle of the output pulse width modulation signal; The corresponding relationship between the vehicle gear position, the rotation angle of the steering gear at the position of the vehicle gear position and the duty cycle of the output pulse width modulation signal is stored in the server.

6. A storage medium storing program instructions, wherein: When the program instructions are executed, the steps of the shift control method for an unmanned vehicle as described in any one of claims 3 to 5 are implemented.

7. A control platform, characterized in that: It comprises a memory for storing a computer program; and a processor for running the computer program to implement the steps of the shift control method for an unmanned vehicle as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 5.

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