Vehicle control unit, vehicle-mounted device and method for manhole cover inspection mode

Abstract

The present invention provides a vehicle control unit, a vehicle-mounted device and a method for a manhole cover mode. The vehicle control unit is configured to receive vehicle environment information and vehicle status information; determine whether a vehicle will pass over a manhole cover based on the vehicle environment information and the vehicle status information, and turn on the manhole cover mode if it is determined that the vehicle will pass over the manhole cover; and in the manhole cover mode, calculate the posture change of the vehicle passing over the manhole cover based on the vehicle environment information and the vehicle status information, the posture change at least including the vibration and yaw of the vehicle; and obtain a diagnostic result representing the condition of the manhole cover based on the posture change.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention generally relates to a vehicle control unit for manhole cover inspection mode, and a vehicle-mounted device including the vehicle control unit, and also relates to a corresponding vehicle control method. Background Art

[0002] Inspection wells are set up for the convenience of maintenance and installation of urban underground infrastructure such as power supply, water supply, drainage, sewage, and communication. Inspection wells generally include well seats, well shafts, well covers, and related accessories. Well covers exposed to the road surface may become loose, protrude, or sink, which not only seriously affects the appearance of urban roads, but also affects driving safety. For example, if a driver swerves to avoid a damaged well cover, it may cause a traffic accident.

[0003] Currently, in order to know the condition of the manhole cover, workers need to go to the site to inspect, record the condition of the manhole cover and report it to the relevant regulatory agency. This method of workers going to the site for inspection is very time-consuming and labor-intensive. In addition, there is often a long delay from the discovery of the damaged manhole cover to the regulatory agency being informed of the situation and the maintenance personnel repairing the damaged manhole cover, which will lead to many safety hazards.

[0004] Therefore, it is desired to provide a technical solution to solve the above problems in the prior art. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, the present invention aims to provide a vehicle control solution for manhole cover inspection mode, which can efficiently collect status information of the manhole cover and perform accurate diagnosis.

[0006] According to an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle control unit for a manhole cover mode, which is configured to: receive vehicle environment information and vehicle status information; determine whether the vehicle will pass over the manhole cover based on the vehicle environment information and the vehicle status information, and if it is determined that the vehicle will pass over the manhole cover, start the manhole cover mode; and in the manhole cover mode, calculate the posture change of the vehicle passing over the manhole cover based on the vehicle environment information and the vehicle status information, the posture change including at least the vibration and yaw of the vehicle; and obtain a diagnostic result representing the condition of the manhole cover based on the posture change.

[0007] According to an embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle-mounted device for manhole cover mode, comprising: a detection unit for detecting vehicle environment information and vehicle status information; a vehicle control unit as described above, for obtaining a diagnosis result representing the condition of the manhole cover based on the vehicle environment information and the vehicle status information; and a communication unit, for transmitting the condition information of the manhole cover to a remote server so as to be presented on a digital map in the remote server, the condition information including the diagnosis result and the image and position of the manhole cover.

[0008] According to an embodiment of the third aspect of the present invention, a vehicle control method for a manhole cover mode is provided, optionally, the method is executed by the vehicle control unit as described above and / or by the on-board device as described above, the method comprising: receiving vehicle environment information and vehicle status information; determining whether the vehicle will pass over the manhole cover based on the vehicle environment information and the vehicle status information, and if it is determined that the vehicle will pass over the manhole cover, turning on the manhole cover mode; in the manhole cover mode, calculating the posture change of the vehicle passing over the manhole cover based on the vehicle environment information and the vehicle status information, the posture change including at least the vibration and yaw of the vehicle; and obtaining a diagnostic result representing the condition of the manhole cover based on the posture change.

[0009] It can be seen that according to the technical solution of the present invention, the manhole cover is monitored by means of vehicle-mounted sensors, and the condition of the manhole cover is diagnosed according to the changes in the posture of the vehicle passing over the manhole cover, thereby realizing automated and intelligent monitoring and diagnosis of the manhole cover, greatly reducing labor costs and time delays, and improving efficiency and accuracy. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Figure 1 It is a schematic block diagram of a vehicle-mounted device for inspecting a manhole cover mode according to a feasible implementation mode of the present invention.

[0011] Figure 2 An operating environment is schematically shown in which some implementations of the present invention may be implemented.

[0012] Figure 3 The figure is a flow chart of a vehicle control method for manhole cover inspection mode according to a feasible implementation mode of the present invention.

[0013] Figure 4-5 yes Figure 3 A schematic flow chart of sub-steps included in two main steps of an exemplary vehicle control method.

[0014] Figure 6It is a schematic block diagram of a vehicle-mounted device for inspecting a manhole cover mode according to another feasible embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] The present invention mainly relates to a vehicle control scheme for monitoring and diagnosing manhole covers. In view of the fact that the existing solutions for manually detecting manhole covers are very time-consuming and labor-intensive, the inventors of the present invention have found that during the process of the vehicle wheels passing over the manhole cover and within a predetermined time thereafter, the vehicle posture will change due to the change in the force on the vehicle, and the change in the vehicle posture is associated with the condition of the manhole cover, that is, the change in the vehicle posture during this period can be used to reflect the condition of the manhole cover. The inventors have also found that the condition of the manhole cover can be diagnosed with the help of the vehicle vibration during the process of the vehicle wheels pressing the manhole cover and the vehicle yaw within a period of time after the wheels pass over the manhole cover.

[0016] Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0017] Figure 1 The schematic diagram shows a vehicle-mounted device 100 for manhole cover inspection mode according to a feasible embodiment of the present invention, which mainly includes a detection unit 20, a vehicle control unit 10 and a communication unit 30. The following specifically introduces each unit of the vehicle-mounted device 100.

[0018] The detection unit 20 is used to detect vehicle environment information INFO_1 and vehicle status information INFO_2. The vehicle environment information INFO_1 may include a video or image of the surroundings of the vehicle, especially the front of the vehicle. The vehicle environment information may also include information such as at least one physically measurable characteristic of at least one object, such as an electromagnetic signal, an acoustic signal, etc. The vehicle status information INFO_2 may include a plurality of vehicle status parameters representing the vehicle status, such as vehicle speed, wheel speed, and vehicle body yaw angle.

[0019] The detection unit 20 may include an environmental sensor 21 for sensing vehicle environmental information INFO_1 around the vehicle, especially in front of the vehicle (in front of the vehicle in the direction of travel). The environmental sensor 21 may include a vehicle-mounted camera (single target or multiple targets) for capturing a video or a series of images that are continuous in time. The environmental sensor 21 may also include a laser radar, an ultrasonic radar (such as a millimeter wave radar), a vehicle-mounted receiver, etc., for sensing the relative distance between the vehicle and surrounding objects.

[0020] The detection unit 20 may include a vehicle state sensor 22 for sensing vehicle state parameters. For example, the vehicle state sensor includes a wheel speed sensor for measuring wheel speed and a yaw angle sensor for measuring vehicle body yaw angle. The vehicle speed can be calculated from the wheel speed.

[0021] It is understandable that the vehicle speed, wheel speed and vehicle yaw angle may also be calculated using other measured vehicle state parameters.

[0022] The vehicle control unit 10 executes a control strategy for detecting the manhole cover mode with the help of the vehicle environment information INFO_1 and the vehicle status information INFO_2, and outputs the status information of the manhole cover, which includes the manhole cover position DATA_1, the manhole cover image DATA_3 and the diagnosis result DATA_2 of the manhole cover status. The control strategy will be described in detail when the working principle and process of the vehicle control unit 10 are introduced below.

[0023] The vehicle control unit 10 may be disposed in the electronic control unit (ECU) of the vehicle, or in the electronic control unit of the vehicle body stability system. The vehicle control unit 10 may also be partially disposed in the electronic control unit (ECU) of the vehicle, and another partially disposed in the electronic control unit of the vehicle body stability system.

[0024] The vehicle control unit 10 may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0025] In one implementation, the vehicle control unit 10 is implemented as including a memory and a processor. The memory contains instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to execute a control strategy for detecting a manhole cover pattern.

[0026] In one embodiment of the implementation, the memory can store software, which includes instructions for causing the processor to perform a series of operations to implement the above control strategy. The memory has a variety of implementations, for example, it can be implemented as a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or a suitable combination thereof.

[0027] In one embodiment of this implementation, the processor is used to run the software or program code stored in the memory to implement the vehicle function of the manhole cover detection mode. The processor has a variety of implementations, for example, it can be implemented as a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or a suitable combination thereof. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor, a controller, or a microcontroller. The processor can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, a combination of one or more microprocessors and a DSP core, or other similar structures.

[0028] See also Figure 2, the communication unit 30 transmits the status information (DATA_1 to DATA_3) of the manhole cover to the remote server, so that the status information of the manhole cover is updated in the digital map MAP in the remote server. In the digital map MAP, different colors and / or shapes can be used to distinguish and display different conditions of the manhole cover. In one embodiment, the communication unit 30 can be implemented by means of a vehicle-mounted T-Box.

[0029] It is understandable that the digital map MAP with status information of the manhole cover can be obtained by relevant road management agencies, or can be obtained on the vehicle side or other terminals (for example, smart devices such as smartphones) and displayed on the APP interface thereon.

[0030] It can be seen that according to the embodiments of the present invention, various status information of the manhole cover can be obtained, including images that can intuitively feel the status of the manhole cover (for example, the damaged surface of the manhole cover can be observed), diagnostic results that can qualitatively indicate the status of the manhole cover (for example, the grade indicating the quality of the manhole cover can be known), and the location of the manhole cover (for example, the location in an area of ​​the city).

[0031] Next, the working principle and process of the vehicle control unit 10 are introduced.

[0032] After receiving the vehicle environment information INFO_1 and the vehicle status information INFO_2, the vehicle control unit 10 determines whether to turn on the manhole cover mode based on the vehicle environment information INFO_1 and the vehicle status information INFO_2. It can be understood that the vehicle has the function of monitoring and diagnosing the manhole cover after turning on the manhole cover mode.

[0033] In one implementation, the vehicle control unit 10 determines whether to enable the manhole cover mode in the following manner.

[0034] First, the vehicle control unit 10 recognizes and analyzes the video or image in the vehicle environment information INFO_1 detected by the detection unit 20 to determine whether there is a manhole cover in front of the vehicle, for example, by determining whether the video or image contains an image portion of the manhole cover to determine whether there is a manhole cover in front of the vehicle. The present invention does not limit the specific image recognition method.

[0035] Next, if it is determined that there is a manhole cover in front of the vehicle, it is determined whether the vehicle's wheels will pass over the manhole cover. For example, the relative position (relative distance and relative direction) between the vehicle and the manhole cover is obtained based on the video or image in the vehicle environment information INFO_1, and the vehicle speed and vehicle body yaw angle in the vehicle status information INFO_2 to determine whether the vehicle's wheels will pass over the manhole cover. Further, it is also possible to determine which wheel (for example, the left front wheel or the right front wheel) will pass over the manhole cover, as well as the pressing time T1 of the manhole cover. And, this time T1 is used as the time to turn on the manhole cover mode, that is, the starting time for the vehicle control unit 10 to start the diagnosis of the condition of the manhole cover.

[0036] It is understandable that when the left front wheel (or right front wheel) of the vehicle passes over the manhole cover, it is very likely that the left rear wheel (or right rear wheel) of the vehicle will also pass over the manhole cover. In the subsequent calculation and processing, only the relevant data of the first time the vehicle wheel passes over the manhole cover is used for calculation. For the situation where the vehicle wheel may pass over the manhole cover for the second time, the corresponding calculation and processing can also be performed in a similar way.

[0037] After the manhole cover inspection mode is turned on, the vehicle control unit 10 obtains the diagnosis result of the manhole cover inspection by calculating the posture change of the vehicle wheel during the process of passing over the manhole cover and for a period of time thereafter. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the posture change of the vehicle may include the vibration of the vehicle during the process of a wheel of the vehicle passing over the manhole cover and the yaw of the vehicle for a period of time after the wheel passes over the manhole cover.

[0038] In one implementation, the vehicle control unit 10 calculates the vibration condition of a wheel of the vehicle when it passes over the manhole cover in the following manner, and obtains a first diagnosis result about the condition of the manhole cover according to the vibration condition.

[0039] First, the vehicle control unit 10 calculates the time required for a wheel of the vehicle to pass over the manhole cover, that is, the time period t1 from the moment T1 when a wheel of the vehicle starts to press the manhole cover to the moment T2 when the wheel passes over the manhole cover. In one embodiment, the time period t1 is calculated using the following formula: t1=D / V, where D is the diameter of the manhole cover, which can be obtained from relevant standards or calculated from the vehicle environment information INFO_1, and V is the vehicle speed.

[0040] Next, the vehicle control unit 10 calculates the wheel speed difference between the wheel pressing the manhole cover and the wheel not pressing the manhole cover. Preferably, the two wheels on the same side of the vehicle can be used to calculate the wheel speed difference. For example, when the left front wheel presses the manhole cover, the wheel speed difference between the left front wheel pressing the manhole cover and the left rear wheel not pressing the manhole cover is used.

[0041] In one embodiment, during the time period t1 from the moment T1 when a wheel of the vehicle starts to press against the manhole cover to the moment T2 when the wheel passes over the manhole cover (i.e., a wheel completely passes over the manhole cover), the vehicle control unit 10 calculates the wheel speed difference once every predetermined time period (the predetermined time period can be obtained based on experience or a calculation model), thereby obtaining multiple wheel speed differences, and calculates the wheel speed difference variance based on the multiple wheel speed differences obtained.

[0042] In this embodiment, the vehicle control unit 10 may calculate a wheel speed difference variance according to the multiple wheel speed differences after obtaining all the wheel speed differences. The vehicle control unit 10 may also calculate a wheel speed difference variance according to the previously obtained wheel speed differences each time a wheel speed difference is obtained starting from obtaining the second wheel speed difference, thereby obtaining multiple wheel speed difference variances.

[0043] Next, the vehicle control unit 10 compares the calculated wheel speed difference variance with a first threshold value (i.e., a predetermined threshold value for the wheel speed difference variance), and obtains a first diagnosis result based on the comparison result. In the case of multiple wheel speed difference variances, each wheel speed difference variance is compared with the first threshold value, thereby obtaining a first diagnosis result.

[0044] For example, when the calculated wheel speed difference variance is greater than the first threshold, the first diagnostic result may be determined as a "bad" condition of the manhole cover, and when the wheel speed difference variance is less than or equal to the first threshold, the first diagnostic result may be determined as a "good" condition of the manhole cover. Alternatively, based on the comparison result of the calculated wheel speed difference variance and the first threshold, the manhole cover condition is determined as one of several levels, thereby giving the first diagnostic result.

[0045] Here, the first threshold is associated with vehicle parameters, and the vehicle parameters include at least one of the following: length, weight, and load distribution of the vehicle. The first threshold can be calculated using these vehicle parameters through a mathematical model, and then adjusted and determined through actual vehicle experiments.

[0046] In one implementation, the vehicle control unit 10 calculates the yaw condition of a wheel of the vehicle within a period of time after the wheel passes over the manhole cover in the following manner, and obtains a second diagnostic result about the condition of the manhole cover according to the yaw condition.

[0047] First, the vehicle control unit 10 calculates the change of the vehicle body yaw angle with time from the time T2 after a wheel of the vehicle passes through the manhole cover to the time T3 after a predetermined time t2. The predetermined time t2 can be obtained through experience and / or experiments.

[0048] In one embodiment, during the predetermined time length t2, the vehicle control unit 10 calculates the change of the vehicle body yaw angle over time once at a predetermined time length (the predetermined time length can be obtained based on experience or a calculation model), thereby obtaining multiple changes of the vehicle body yaw angle over time, and calculating multiple yaw angle variances based on the multiple changes.

[0049] The change of the vehicle body yaw angle over time is calculated by the following formula, for example:

[0050] dd(Yaw)=d 2 (Yaw) / dt 2 ,

[0051] Wherein, dd(Yaw) represents the change of the vehicle body yaw angle over time, and dt represents the operation cycle of the vehicle control system (for example, when the operation on the vehicle body yaw angle is performed in the vehicle body stability system, dt is the operation cycle of the vehicle body stability system, for example, 20ms). That is, according to this formula, the vehicle yaw angle is derived twice with respect to the operation cycle of the vehicle control system.

[0052] Next, the vehicle control unit 10 compares the calculated yaw angle variance with a second threshold value (i.e., a predetermined threshold value for yaw angle variance), and obtains a second diagnosis result based on the comparison result. In the case of multiple yaw angle variances, each yaw angle variance is compared with the second threshold value, thereby obtaining a second diagnosis result.

[0053] For example, when the calculated yaw angle variance is greater than the second threshold, the second diagnostic result may be determined as a "bad" manhole cover condition, and when the wheel speed difference variance is less than or equal to the second threshold, the second diagnostic result may be determined as a "good" manhole cover condition. Alternatively, based on the comparison result of the calculated yaw angle variance and the second threshold, the manhole cover condition is determined as one of several levels, thereby providing the second diagnostic result.

[0054] Here, the second threshold is associated with vehicle parameters, and the vehicle parameters include at least one of the following: length, weight, and load distribution of the vehicle. The first threshold can be calculated using these vehicle parameters through a mathematical model, and then adjusted and determined through actual vehicle experiments.

[0055] After obtaining the first diagnosis result and the second diagnosis result, the vehicle control unit 10 determines a diagnosis result of the manhole cover condition according to the first diagnosis result and the second diagnosis result.

[0056] In one embodiment, when both the first and second diagnostic results are "bad", the vehicle control unit 10 determines the diagnostic result as "bad", and when one or both of the first and second diagnostic results are "good", the vehicle control unit 10 determines the diagnostic result as "good". Alternatively, the vehicle control unit 10 gives a grade representing the condition of the manhole cover according to the first and second diagnostic results as the diagnostic result.

[0057] In another embodiment, the vehicle control unit 10 combines the grades given by the first and second diagnosis results to give a final grade as the diagnosis result of the manhole cover condition.

[0058] It is understandable that the diagnosis result may also be expressed in other ways, without being limited thereto.

[0059] In addition, the vehicle control unit 10 can determine the vehicle position according to the position signal (e.g., GPS signal) from the vehicle navigation system, and use the vehicle position as the position of the manhole cover. It is understandable that the vehicle control unit 10 can use the vehicle position at any time between time T1 and time T3 as the position of the manhole cover.

[0060] After obtaining the status information of the manhole cover, the vehicle control unit 10 outputs the status information to the communication unit 30. The status information includes three types of data, namely, the above-mentioned diagnosis result DATA2, the image DATA3 of the manhole cover (for example, obtained from the vehicle environment information INFO_1), and the position DATA1 of the manhole cover.

[0061] The present invention also provides a vehicle control method for manhole cover inspection mode, which can be executed in the above-mentioned vehicle control unit 10 or in the above-mentioned vehicle-mounted device 100. Therefore, the above-mentioned various features of the vehicle control unit 10 and the vehicle-mounted device 100 are also applicable to the vehicle control method and will not be described in detail.

[0062] Figure 3 A vehicle control method for manhole cover inspection mode according to a feasible implementation mode of the present invention is schematically shown, which mainly includes the following steps.

[0063] In step S1 , vehicle environment information and vehicle status information are received.

[0064] Next, in step S2, it is determined whether the vehicle will run over the manhole cover based on the vehicle environment information and the vehicle state information, and if it is determined that the vehicle will run over the manhole cover, the manhole cover mode is turned on.

[0065] Next, in step S3, when it is determined that the manhole cover opening mode is in effect, the posture change of the vehicle passing over the manhole cover is calculated based on the vehicle environment information and the vehicle state information, and the posture change at least includes the vibration and yaw of the vehicle.

[0066] Then, in step S4, a diagnosis result indicating the condition of the manhole cover is obtained based on the posture change.

[0067] And, in step S5, the vehicle position is determined based on the position signal from the vehicle navigation system as the position of the manhole cover.

[0068] Next, in step S6, the status information of the manhole cover is output, and the status information includes the position and image of the manhole cover and the diagnosis result.

[0069] In the above method, step S5 may be performed after step S3, or simultaneously with step S3 or step S4.

[0070] According to a feasible implementation manner, the above step S2 can be implemented in the following manner.

[0071] See also Figure 4 , in sub-step S21, the video or image contained in the vehicle environment information is identified to obtain a recognition result.

[0072] Next, in sub-step S22, based on the recognition result, it is determined whether there is a manhole cover in front of the vehicle.

[0073] If the result of the determination in substep S22 is "No", the process returns to substep S21. If the result of the determination in substep S22 is "Yes", the process proceeds to substep S23.

[0074] Next, in sub-step S23, it is determined whether the wheels of the vehicle will pass over the manhole cover.

[0075] If the result of the determination in substep S23 is "No", the process returns to substep S21. If the result of the determination in substep S23 is "Yes", the process proceeds to substep S24.

[0076] Next, in sub-step S24, the pressing time when the wheel will press on the manhole cover is determined based on the vehicle environment information and the vehicle state information, and the manhole cover mode is turned on at the determined pressing time.

[0077] According to a feasible implementation manner, the above step S3 can be implemented in the following manner.

[0078] See also Figure 5 In sub-step S31, while the vehicle is pressing the manhole cover, the wheel speed difference between the wheels pressing the manhole cover and the wheels not pressing the manhole cover is calculated.

[0079] Next, in sub-step S32, a first diagnosis result indicating the condition of the manhole cover is obtained based on the calculated wheel speed difference and the first threshold value.

[0080] Next, in sub-step S33, within a predetermined time period after the wheel passes over the manhole cover, the change in the vehicle body yaw angle over time is calculated.

[0081] Next, in sub-step S34, a second diagnosis result indicating the condition of the manhole cover is obtained based on the calculated change in the vehicle body yaw angle over time and a second threshold value.

[0082] Figure 6 A vehicle-mounted device 200 for manhole cover inspection mode according to another feasible embodiment of the present invention is shown, which mainly includes a forward monitoring device 210, a stability control device 220, a positioning device 240 and a communication device 230.

[0083] In this embodiment, the forward-looking monitoring device 210 is used to monitor the environment in front of the vehicle and obtain vehicle environment information INFO_1, which includes a video or image of the environment in front of the vehicle, thereby outputting an image DATA_1 of the manhole cover when there is a manhole cover in front of the vehicle. In addition, the forward-looking monitoring device 210 determines whether to turn on the manhole cover mode based on the vehicle environment information INFO_1 and part of the information INFO_21 in the vehicle state information INFO_2 (for example, including the vehicle speed and the vehicle body yaw angle), and generates a trigger signal S_Trigger when it is determined that the manhole cover mode is turned on.

[0084] The forward-looking monitoring device 210 may include a vehicle-mounted camera and a processing unit for determining whether to turn on the manhole cover mode. The vehicle-mounted camera of the forward-looking monitoring device 210 may be implemented with the aid of the above-mentioned environmental sensor 21. For example, the above-mentioned environmental sensor 21 includes the vehicle-mounted camera of the forward-looking monitoring device 210. The processing unit of the forward-looking monitoring device 210 may be implemented with the aid of the part of the vehicle control unit 10 for determining whether to turn on the manhole cover mode. For example, the part of the vehicle control unit 10 for determining whether to turn on the manhole cover mode is provided in the forward-looking monitoring device 210.

[0085] In this embodiment, upon receiving the trigger signal S_Trigger, the stability control device 220 calculates the vehicle posture change based on partial information INFO_22 (eg, wheel speed and vehicle yaw angle) in the vehicle state information INFO_2, thereby obtaining a diagnostic result DATA_2 for the manhole cover.

[0086] The stability control device 220 may include an on-board sensor and a processing unit for determining a diagnosis result. The on-board sensor of the stability control device 220 may be implemented by means of the vehicle state sensor 22. For example, the vehicle state sensor 22 includes a sensor associated with the stability control device 220. The processing unit of the stability control device 220 may be implemented by means of a portion of the vehicle control unit 10 for determining a diagnosis result. For example, the portion of the vehicle control unit 10 for determining a diagnosis result is disposed in the stability control device 220.

[0087] In this embodiment, the positioning device 240 is used to determine the vehicle position as the position of the manhole cover, and output the position information S_Position to the forward monitoring device 210, thereby outputting the manhole cover position DATA_1. The positioning device 240 can be implemented by means of the part of the vehicle control unit 10 used to determine the vehicle position.

[0088] The communication device 230 transmits the status information of the manhole cover, that is, DATA_1 to DATA_3, so as to be presented in the map MAP. The communication device 230 can be implemented by means of the above-mentioned communication unit 30.

[0089] The present invention also provides a machine-readable storage medium storing executable instructions, which, when executed, enable the machine to perform the method described above.

[0090] It should be understood that examples of machine-readable storage media may include volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storing information (e.g., computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data). Storage media may include, but are not limited to: random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium capable of storing information.

[0091] In some embodiments, the machine-readable storage medium may store executable computer program instructions that, when executed by one or more processing units, cause the processing units to perform the above method. The executable computer program instructions may include any suitable type of code, for example, source code, compiled code, interpreted code, executable code, static code, dynamic code, etc. The executable computer program instructions may be implemented using any suitable high-level, low-level, object-oriented, visual, compiled and / or interpreted programming language.

[0092] Although some embodiments have been described above, these embodiments are given by way of example only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The appended claims and their equivalents are intended to cover all modifications, substitutions and changes made within the scope and spirit of the invention.

Claims

1. A vehicle control unit for manhole cover inspection mode, configured to: Receiving vehicle environment information and vehicle status information; determining whether the vehicle will run over the manhole cover based on the vehicle environment information and the vehicle state information, and if it is determined that the vehicle will run over the manhole cover, turning on the manhole cover mode; and In the manhole cover mode, a posture change of the vehicle passing over the manhole cover is calculated based on the vehicle environment information and the vehicle status information, wherein the posture change includes at least the vibration and yaw of the vehicle; and a diagnosis result indicating the condition of the manhole cover is obtained based on the posture change. in, The vehicle control unit calculates the vibration condition by calculating the wheel speed difference between the wheels pressing the manhole cover and the wheels not pressing the manhole cover during the period when the vehicle presses the manhole cover.

2. The vehicle control unit according to claim 1, wherein: The vehicle control unit is further configured to: Determining the vehicle position based on a position signal from a vehicle navigation system as the position of the manhole cover; and The status information of the manhole cover is output, wherein the status information includes the position and image of the manhole cover and the diagnosis result.

3. The vehicle control unit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The vehicle control unit is configured to: During the period when the vehicle is pressing the manhole cover, the wheel speed difference between the wheel pressing the manhole cover and the wheel not pressing the manhole cover is calculated at predetermined time intervals to obtain a plurality of wheel speed differences; calculating a wheel speed difference variance based on the plurality of wheel speed differences; as well as A first diagnosis result indicating the condition of the manhole cover is obtained based on the calculated wheel speed variance and a first threshold value.

4. The vehicle control unit according to claim 3, wherein: The first threshold is associated with a vehicle parameter, the vehicle parameter comprising at least one of: a length, a weight, a load distribution of the vehicle.

5. The vehicle control unit according to claim 3, wherein: The vehicle control unit calculates the yaw condition in the following manner: Calculate the change of the vehicle body yaw angle with time within a predetermined time period after the wheel passes over the manhole cover; and A second diagnosis result indicating the condition of the manhole cover is obtained based on the calculated temporal change in the vehicle body yaw angle and a second threshold value.

6. The vehicle control unit according to claim 5, wherein: The second threshold is associated with a vehicle parameter, the vehicle parameter comprising at least one of: a length, a weight, a load distribution of the vehicle.

7. The vehicle control unit according to claim 5, wherein: The vehicle control unit is further configured to determine, as the diagnosis result, a level representing a condition of the manhole cover based on the first diagnosis result and the second diagnosis result.

8. The vehicle control unit according to claim 1, wherein: The vehicle environment information includes a video or a temporally continuous series of images of the environment in front of the vehicle; and The vehicle status information includes vehicle speed, wheel speed, and vehicle body yaw angle.

9. The vehicle control unit according to claim 8, wherein: The vehicle control unit is configured to: Identify the video or image to determine whether there is a manhole cover in front of the vehicle; When it is determined that there is a manhole cover in front of the vehicle, judging whether the wheels of the vehicle will run over the manhole cover based on the vehicle environment information and the vehicle state information; When it is determined that a wheel of the vehicle will pass over the manhole cover, determining a pressing time of the wheel on the manhole cover based on the vehicle environment information and the vehicle state information; and The manhole cover mode is turned on at the determined pressing-up time.

10. A vehicle-mounted device for inspecting a manhole cover mode, comprising: Detection unit, used to detect vehicle environment information and vehicle status information ； The vehicle control unit according to any one of claims 1 to 9, configured to obtain a diagnostic result representing the condition of the manhole cover based on the vehicle environment information and the vehicle status information; as well as A communication unit is used to transmit the status information of the manhole cover to a remote server so as to be presented on a digital map in the remote server, wherein the status information includes the diagnosis result and the image and position of the manhole cover.

11. The vehicle-mounted device according to claim 10, wherein: The detection unit includes an environment sensor for sensing vehicle environment information and a vehicle state sensor for sensing vehicle state information; and The vehicle control unit includes a portion integrated in the forward vision monitoring device of the vehicle for determining whether to turn on the manhole cover mode; and a portion integrated in the body stability device of the vehicle for determining the diagnosis result.

12. A vehicle control method for manhole cover inspection mode, the method being executed by a vehicle control unit according to any one of claims 1 to 9 and / or by an on-board device according to any one of claims 10 to 11, the method comprising: Receiving vehicle environment information and vehicle status information; Determining whether the vehicle will run over the manhole cover based on the vehicle environment information and the vehicle state information, and turning on the manhole cover mode if it is determined that the vehicle will run over the manhole cover; In the manhole cover mode, a posture change of the vehicle passing over the manhole cover is calculated based on the vehicle environment information and the vehicle state information, wherein the posture change includes at least a vibration condition and a yaw condition of the vehicle; and A diagnosis result indicating the condition of the manhole cover is obtained based on the posture change.

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