Platoon control, system including the same, and brake control method thereof

Abstract

Disclosed are a platoon traveling controller, a system including the same, and a braking control method thereof. A platoon traveling controller includes a processor configured to share information about a first platoon traveling vehicle of a platoon traveling vehicle with other platoon traveling vehicles of the set of platoon traveling vehicles and perform braking control when a brake of the first platoon traveling vehicle fails during platoon traveling, and a memory configured to store data and algorithms for platoon traveling and braking control by the processor. The processor is configured to rearrange the set of platoon traveling vehicles according to a position at which the first platoon traveling vehicle is disposed in a platoon traveling line to decelerate the first platoon traveling vehicle and a second platoon traveling vehicle in front of the first platoon traveling vehicle and center the first platoon traveling vehicle and the second platoon traveling vehicle to perform the braking control.

Description

[0001] Cross-references to related applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0078290, filed on June 26, 2020, which is incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This disclosure relates to a queuing driving controller, a system including the same, and a braking control method thereof. Background Technology

[0004] Queue driving is a technology in which multiple vehicles autonomously move along a track at predetermined intervals. When multiple vehicles are queuing, the lead vehicle at the front of the queuing line can control one or more following vehicles.

[0005] When a vehicle with a faulty brake is in the convoy, the faulty vehicle uses its decelerator (which is a sub-brake) to brake, or a normal vehicle that is not faulty moves in front of the faulty vehicle and brakes, thereby stopping the vehicle with the faulty brake.

[0006] However, when braking using only the decelerator, the heavy weight and long braking distance of large trucks make it difficult to respond quickly to road emergencies. Furthermore, when a normal vehicle brakes in front of a disabled vehicle, damage can occur due to the impact of the collision. If the impact is not applied to the center of the vehicle, the vehicles may spin across the path, which has a detrimental effect on stability. Summary of the Invention

[0007] This disclosure can solve the problems that arise in the prior art, while retaining the advantages achieved by the prior art.

[0008] This disclosure relates to a platooning controller, a system including the same, and a braking control method thereof. Specific embodiments relate to emergency braking control techniques for situations where braking is not possible during platooning.

[0009] Embodiments of this disclosure provide a platoon driving controller, a system including the same, and a braking control method thereof. The platoon driving controller is used to actively control the braking of vehicles with brake failures during platoon driving based on surrounding road conditions, so as to reduce the braking distance and bring the vehicles with brake failures to a stop without colliding with or being damaged by surrounding vehicles.

[0010] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is not limited to the foregoing problems, and any other technical problems not mentioned herein will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art to which this disclosure pertains from the following description.

[0011] According to embodiments of this disclosure, a platooning controller may include: a processor that, when a vehicle with a malfunctioning brake is present during platooning, shares information about the malfunctioning vehicle with the platooning vehicles and performs braking control; and a memory that stores data and algorithms for platooning and braking control performed by the processor. The processor can rearrange the platooning vehicles according to their positions within the platooning line, can decelerate the malfunctioning vehicle and the vehicles in front of it, and can center the malfunctioning vehicle and the vehicles in front of it to perform braking control.

[0012] In one implementation, the processor can control the malfunctioning vehicle such that, when the malfunctioning vehicle and the vehicle in front of it are centered, the inter-vehicle distance between the malfunctioning vehicle and the vehicle in front of it becomes "0".

[0013] In this implementation, when the distance between the vehicle that malfunctions and the vehicle in front of it becomes "0", the processor can determine whether the road condition is an emergency braking situation or a normal braking situation.

[0014] In this implementation, when the distance to the obstacle ahead is short and a collision with the obstacle is unavoidable, the processor can determine the road condition as an emergency braking condition; when the distance to the obstacle ahead is long and a collision with the obstacle can be avoided, the processor can determine the road condition as a normal braking condition.

[0015] In the implementation, when the road condition is an emergency braking situation, the processor can control the vehicle in front of the malfunctioning vehicle to brake at a predetermined reference value or greater, and when the road condition is a normal braking situation, the processor can control the vehicle in front of the malfunctioning vehicle to brake at a deceleration less than the predetermined reference value.

[0016] In one implementation, when the brakes of the lead vehicle fail, the processor can grant the authority of the lead vehicle to the first following vehicle that is following the lead vehicle in the convoy, and the processor can control the first following vehicle to move in front of the lead vehicle.

[0017] In this implementation, when the brakes of the first following vehicle fail, the processor can perform deceleration control by means of the main braking device of the leading vehicle, and can also use the sub-braking device of the first following vehicle that follows the leading vehicle to perform deceleration control, so that the inter-vehicle distance between the leading vehicle and the first following vehicle becomes "0".

[0018] In one implementation, when the brake of the last vehicle in a convoy malfunctions, the processor can determine the number of vehicles in the convoy.

[0019] In one implementation, when the number of vehicles in the queue exceeds a predetermined number, the processor can send a command to move to the vehicle in front of the vehicle at the end of the queue.

[0020] In one implementation, the processor can send control commands to the malfunctioning vehicle, causing the inter-vehicle distance to become "0" from the vehicle in front of the malfunctioning vehicle.

[0021] In one implementation, the processor can use a sub-braking device to control the malfunctioning vehicle to perform deceleration control, and can use a main braking device to control the vehicle in front of the malfunctioning vehicle.

[0022] In one implementation, when the number of vehicles in the queue is 3, the processor can control the lead vehicle to move to the end of the queue line.

[0023] In one implementation, during the braking control of a malfunctioning vehicle, the processor can control following vehicles behind the malfunctioning vehicle to increase the inter-vehicle distance from the vehicle in front of the following vehicle behind the malfunctioning vehicle.

[0024] According to another embodiment of this disclosure, the vehicle system may include: a sensing device for sensing information for platooning; a sub-braking device for braking when the main braking device fails; and a platooning controller for sharing information about a vehicle with a failed brake with platooning vehicles when a vehicle with a failed brake is present during platooning, rearranging the platooning vehicles according to the position of the vehicle with a failed brake in the platooning line, slowing down the vehicle with a failed brake and the vehicle in front of the vehicle with a failed brake, and centering the vehicle with a failed brake and the vehicle in front of the vehicle with a failed brake in order to perform braking control.

[0025] In an implementation, the sensing device can sense the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle in front of the malfunctioning vehicle and the vehicle behind the malfunctioning vehicle, the vehicle speed, or the offset of the center of the vehicle in front of the malfunctioning vehicle from the main vehicle.

[0026] According to another embodiment of this disclosure, the queuing driving control method may include, when a vehicle with a brake failure exists during queuing driving, sharing information about the vehicle with a brake failure with the vehicles in the queuing, rearranging the vehicles in the queuing according to the position of the vehicle with a brake failure arranged in the queuing driving line, slowing down the vehicle with a brake failure and the vehicle in front of the vehicle with a brake failure, and centering the vehicle with a brake failure and the vehicle in front of the vehicle with a brake failure in order to perform braking control.

[0027] In one implementation, performing braking control may include controlling the malfunctioning vehicle such that, with the malfunctioning vehicle and the vehicle in front of it centered, the inter-vehicle distance between the malfunctioning vehicle and the vehicle in front of it becomes "0".

[0028] In one implementation, braking control may include: when the inter-vehicle distance between the malfunctioning vehicle and the vehicle in front of the malfunctioning vehicle becomes "0", determining whether the road condition is an emergency braking condition or a normal braking condition; when the road condition is an emergency braking condition, controlling the vehicle in front of the malfunctioning vehicle with a predetermined reference value or greater deceleration; and when the road condition is a normal braking condition, controlling the vehicle in front of the malfunctioning vehicle with a deceleration less than the predetermined reference value.

[0029] In one implementation, the rearrangement of vehicles in a convoy may include: when the brakes of the lead vehicle fail, granting the authority of the lead vehicle to the first following vehicle that is following the lead vehicle, and controlling the first following vehicle to move in front of the lead vehicle.

[0030] In one implementation, the rearrangement of vehicles in a convoy may include: when the brakes of the first following vehicle fail, deceleration control is performed by means of the main brakes of the lead vehicle, and deceleration control is performed by means of the sub-brakes of the first rear vehicle following the lead vehicle. Attached Figure Description

[0031] The above and other objects, features, and advantages of this disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0032] Figure 1 This is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a vehicle system including a platooning controller according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0033] Figure 2 This is an illustration showing an exemplary scene of a normal vehicle convoy traveling according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0034] Figure 3AThis is a diagram illustrating a braking control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure when the brakes of the lead vehicle fail during convoy driving;

[0035] Figure 3B This is a flowchart illustrating a braking control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure when the brakes of the lead vehicle fail during platooning.

[0036] Figure 3C This is a diagram illustrating vehicle deployment during braking control when the brakes of the lead vehicle fail during platooning, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0037] Figure 4A This is a diagram illustrating a braking control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure when the brakes of a following vehicle immediately following the lead vehicle in a convoy travel line fail.

[0038] Figure 4B This is a flowchart illustrating a braking control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure when the brake of a following vehicle immediately following the lead vehicle in a convoy fails.

[0039] Figure 5A This is a diagram illustrating a braking control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure when the brake of the last vehicle in a platoon fails.

[0040] Figure 5B This is a flowchart illustrating a braking control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure when the brakes of the last vehicle in a platoon fail.

[0041] Figure 5C and 5D This is a diagram illustrating vehicle deployment during braking control when the brakes of the last vehicle in a platoon fail, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0042] Figure 6A This is a diagram illustrating a braking control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure when the brake of a following vehicle located in the middle of a queuing line fails.

[0043] Figure 6B This is a flowchart illustrating a braking control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure when the brakes of a following vehicle located in the middle of a platoon line fail; and

[0044] Figure 7 This is a block diagram illustrating a computing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0045] In the following, some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the exemplary accompanying drawings. When adding reference numerals to the components in the figures, it should be noted that the same numbers are used to designate the same components, even when the same or equivalent components are shown in other figures. Furthermore, in describing embodiments of the present disclosure, detailed descriptions of well-known features or functions will be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the spirit of the disclosure.

[0046] In describing components according to embodiments of the present disclosure, terms such as first, second, "an (A)", "two (B)", "a (a)", "two (b)", etc., may be used. These terms are intended only to distinguish one component from another, and they do not limit the nature, order, or sequence of the constituent components. Unless otherwise defined, the terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning equivalent to that in the context of the relevant technical field and should not be interpreted as having an ideal or overly formal meaning unless expressly defined as such in this application.

[0047] In the following text, reference will be made to Figures 1 to 7 The embodiments of this disclosure are described in detail.

[0048] Figure 1 This is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a vehicle system including a queuing driving controller according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0049] refer to Figure 1 The vehicle system may include a queuing driving controller 100, a sensing device 200, a steering signal bar 300, an interface 400, a sub-brake device 500, and a main brake device 600.

[0050] When a vehicle experiences a brake (main braking device) failure during platooning, the platooning controller 100 can share information about the vehicle with other vehicles in the platoon to perform braking control. Furthermore, the platooning controller 100 can rearrange the platooning vehicles based on the position of the vehicle with the brake failure within the platooning line, and can decelerate the vehicle with the failure and the vehicles preceding it to perform braking control.

[0051] The platooning control 100 according to embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented in a host vehicle. In this case, the platooning control 100 can be configured integrally with the control unit in the host vehicle, or it can be implemented as a separate device connected to the control unit of the host vehicle by a separate connection device.

[0052] The queuing driving controller 100 may include a communication device 110, a memory 120, and a processor 130.

[0053] The communication device 110 can be a hardware device implemented with various electronic circuits to send and receive signals via wireless or wired connections. In embodiments of this disclosure, the communication device 110 can perform network communication technology within a vehicle and can use wireless internet technology or short-range communication technology to perform vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication with a server, infrastructure, or another vehicle outside the vehicle. Hereinafter, the network communication technology within the vehicle can be vehicle-to-vehicle communication via Controller Area Network (CAN) communication, Local Area Network (LIN) communication, flex-ray communication, etc. Furthermore, wireless internet technology can include wireless local area network (WLAN), wireless broadband (WiBro), wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), Global Microwave Access Interoperability (WiMAX), etc. Additionally, short-range communication technologies can include Bluetooth, ZigBee, ultra-wideband (UWB), radio frequency identification (RFID), Infrared Data Association (IrDA), etc.

[0054] As an example, communication device 110 can share queuing information among vehicles in a queuing line. In this case, the queuing information may include information about the vehicle's position, speed, or destination.

[0055] The memory 120 can store data, algorithms, etc. required for the operation of the queue driving controller 100, such as the sensing results of the sensing device 200, vehicle information of vehicles in the queue driving line received by the communication device 110, and data obtained by the processor 130.

[0056] For example, memory 120 may store braking failure information of vehicles in the queuing line (which is received via vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication), and may store information about vehicle speed, distance to the vehicle in front, or center offset between the vehicle in front and the lead vehicle. Furthermore, memory 120 may store information about obstacles (e.g., vehicles in front) detected by sensing device 200 (e.g., distance to the obstacle, speed of the obstacle, etc.).

[0057] In addition, the memory 120 can store road condition information obtained by the processor 130 and commands, algorithms, etc., for safe braking control when there is a vehicle with a malfunctioning main braking device (brake) in the convoy of vehicles.

[0058] The memory 120 may include at least one type of storage medium, such as flash memory, hard disk memory, micro memory, card memory (e.g., security digital (SD) card or extreme digital (XD) card), random access memory (RAM), static RAM (SRAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), magnetic RAM (MRAM), magnetic disk, and optical disk.

[0059] The processor 130 can be electrically connected to the communication device 110, memory 120, etc., and can electrically control various components. The processor 130 can be a circuit that executes software instructions and can perform various data processing and calculations as described below. The processor 130 can be, for example, an electronic control unit (ECU), a microcontroller unit (MCU), or another sub-controller installed in a vehicle.

[0060] When a vehicle experiences a brake failure during platooning, the processor 130 can share information about the failure with the platooning vehicles (e.g., the location of the vehicle that failed, the role of the vehicle that failed, the speed of the vehicle that failed, the inter-vehicle distance from the vehicle that failed, the center offset between the vehicle in front of the vehicle that failed and the main vehicle, etc.). The processor 130 can rearrange the platooning vehicles according to the position of the vehicle that failed in the platooning line where braking control is being performed, and decelerate the vehicle that failed and the vehicle in front of the vehicle that failed to perform braking control.

[0061] The processor 130 can center the malfunctioning vehicle and the vehicle in front of it, and can control the malfunctioning vehicle so that the inter-vehicle distance between the malfunctioning vehicle and the vehicle in front of it becomes "0". In this case, when the inter-vehicle distance between the malfunctioning vehicle and the vehicle in front of it becomes "0", because of the concern that the vehicle will be damaged if the malfunctioning vehicle and the vehicle in front of it are not centered, the processor 130 can control the vehicle based on the offset between the center of the vehicle in front of the malfunctioning vehicle and the main vehicle, as measured by the sensing device 200, so that the center of the malfunctioning vehicle and the center of the vehicle in front of it are the same.

[0062] When the distance between the vehicle that has malfunctioned and the vehicle in front of it becomes "0", the processor 130 can determine whether the road condition is an emergency braking situation or a normal braking situation.

[0063] When the distance to an obstacle ahead is short and a collision with the obstacle is unavoidable, the processor 130 can determine the road condition as an emergency braking situation. When the distance to an obstacle ahead is long and a collision with the obstacle can be avoided, the processor 130 can determine the road condition as a normal braking situation. In other words, because a collision with an obstacle ahead is unavoidable and the distance to the obstacle is short, the processor 130 can determine the road condition as an emergency situation when a high deceleration of a predetermined reference value (e.g., 0.4g) is required. Furthermore, because a collision with an obstacle ahead can be avoided and the distance to the obstacle is far, the processor 130 can determine the road condition as a normal situation when a low deceleration less than the predetermined reference value is required.

[0064] When the road condition is an emergency braking situation, the processor 130 can control the vehicle in front to brake at a predetermined reference value or greater. When the road condition is a normal braking situation, the processor 130 can control the vehicle in front to brake at a deceleration less than the predetermined reference value.

[0065] When the brakes of the lead vehicle in a convoy fail, the processor 130 can grant the lead vehicle's authority to the first following vehicle that is following the lead vehicle, and can control the first following vehicle to move in front of the lead vehicle.

[0066] When the brake of the first following vehicle malfunctions, the processor 130 can use the main braking device of the leading vehicle to perform deceleration control, and can also use the sub-braking device of the first following vehicle to perform deceleration control, so that the inter-vehicle distance between the leading vehicle and the first following vehicle becomes "0".

[0067] When the brake of the last vehicle in a convoy malfunctions, the processor 130 can determine the number of vehicles in the convoy. When the number of vehicles in the convoy is less than 3, that is, when the number of vehicles in the convoy is 2, the processor 130 can perform braking control without resetting the vehicles.

[0068] When the number of vehicles in the queue exceeds a predetermined number (e.g., 3), the processor 130 can send a command to move to the vehicle in front of the last vehicle, instructing it to move behind the last vehicle. In other words, the processor 130 can send a control command to the malfunctioning vehicle, causing the distance between the malfunctioning vehicle and the vehicle in front of it to become "0", thereby controlling the malfunctioning vehicle to perform deceleration control using a sub-brake and controlling the vehicle in front of the malfunctioning vehicle to perform deceleration control using a main brake, causing the distance between them to become "0".

[0069] When the number of vehicles in the queue is 3, the processor 130 can control the lead vehicle to move to the end of the queue line, and can decelerate the vehicle that has malfunctioned and the vehicle in front of the malfunctioning vehicle so that the distance between them becomes "0" to perform braking control.

[0070] When braking control is applied to a vehicle that has malfunctioned, the processor 130 can control the following vehicles behind the malfunctioning vehicle to increase the distance between the following vehicles and the vehicles in front of them, thereby preventing a collision with the following vehicles under the braking control of the malfunctioning vehicle.

[0071] The sensing device 200 may include one or more sensors, each of which detects obstacles (e.g., vehicles ahead) located around the host vehicle and measures the distance to the obstacle and / or the relative speed of the obstacle.

[0072] Sensing device 200 may have multiple sensors for sensing objects outside the vehicle and can obtain information about the object's position, speed, direction of movement, and / or type (e.g., vehicle, pedestrian, bicycle, motorcycle, etc.). For this purpose, sensing device 200 may include camera 210 and radar 220. Although Figure 1 Not shown, but sensing device 200 may also include ultrasonic sensors, laser scanners and / or angle radar, light detection and ranging (LiDAR), acceleration sensors, yaw rate sensors, torque sensors and / or wheel speed sensors, steering angle sensors, etc. Camera 210 can acquire data for identifying the wheels and center of the vehicle in front. Radar 220 can measure the distance to the vehicle in front and can provide the measured distance to platoon driving controller 100.

[0073] The turn signal stalk 300 can be used to indicate a lane change by the driver. When the turn signal is on / off, the turn signal stalk 300 can be configured as a multi-function switch.

[0074] Interface 400 may include an input device for receiving control commands from a user and an output device for outputting the operating status, operating results, etc. of the queue driving controller 100.

[0075] Here, the input device may include buttons, and may also include a mouse, joystick, jogshuttle, stylus, etc. Additionally, the input device may include soft keys implemented on the display.

[0076] The output device can provide the driver with information about the convoy's movement. For this purpose, the output device may include a display and a voice output device such as a speaker. In this case, a touch sensor (such as a touch film, touch sheet, or touchpad) is incorporated into the display, which functions as a touchscreen, and can be implemented with the input and output devices integrated together.

[0077] In this case, the display may include at least one of a liquid crystal display (LCD), a thin film transistor-LCD (TFT-LCD), an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, a flexible display, a field emission display (FED), or a three-dimensional (3D) display.

[0078] When the main braking device 600 (brake) of the main vehicle fails, the sub-braking device 500 can perform sub-braking of the main vehicle and can be implemented as an exhaust brake, reducer, etc.

[0079] The main braking device 600 can perform braking control of the main vehicle.

[0080] Figure 2 This is an illustration of an exemplary scene showing a normal vehicle convoy traveling according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0081] refer to Figure 2 In a convoy, the lead vehicle LV and following vehicles FV1 to FVn can travel in a convoy on the road. The lead vehicle LV and following vehicles FV1 to FVn can maintain a specified distance while traveling. During travel, the lead vehicle LV or following vehicles FV1 to FVn can adjust the distance between them. Depending on the driver's input, the distance between the lead vehicle LV or following vehicles FV1 to FVn can be increased or decreased.

[0082] In the following text, reference will be made to Figures 3A to 3C A description of a braking control method is given when the brakes of the lead vehicle fail during convoy driving.

[0083] Figure 3A This is a diagram illustrating a braking control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure when the brakes of the lead vehicle fail during convoy driving. Figure 3B This is a flowchart illustrating a braking control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure when the brakes of the lead vehicle fail during platooning. Figure 3C This is a diagram illustrating vehicle deployment during braking control when the brakes of the lead vehicle fail during platooning, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the following, it is assumed that... Figure 1 The queue driving controller 100 performs Figure 3B The processing. Furthermore, in Figure 3B In the description, the operation described as being performed by each of the vehicles in the queue can be understood as being performed by the queue driving controller 100 loaded into each of the vehicles in the queue, and can also be understood as being controlled by the processor 130 of the queue driving controller 100.

[0084] refer to Figure 3A and Figure 3B In S101, when the brakes of the lead vehicle (LV) malfunction, the platooning controller 100 of the lead vehicle LV can share the fault information with the following vehicles in the platooning line. In this case, the following vehicle FV1 can provide the lead vehicle LV with its distance from the vehicle ahead, its current speed, and the offset of its center from the vehicle ahead. Furthermore, each of the following vehicles FV2 through FVn can send information (such as distance from the vehicle ahead and vehicle speed) to the lead vehicle LV.

[0085] In S102, the queuing driving controller 100 of vehicle LV can change vehicle LV to vehicle FV1_new, and can grant the permissions of vehicle LV_new to vehicle FV1 through vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication.

[0086] Therefore, as Figure 3A and Figure 3C As shown, in S103, the queuing driving controller 100 of vehicle LV can control vehicle LV_new(FV1_old) to move in front of vehicle FV1_new(LV_old). In this case, vehicle LV_new(FV1_old) can operate its turn signal and can change lanes to move in front of vehicle FV1_new(LV_old).

[0087] In S104, the queuing driving controller 100 of vehicle LV_new can send control commands to vehicle FV1_new via V2V communication, so that the distance between the vehicle and the vehicle in front becomes "0".

[0088] Therefore, in S105, the queuing controller 100 of vehicle FV1_new can operate the sub-brake of vehicle FV1_new to perform deceleration control, and the queuing controller 100 of vehicle LV_new can perform deceleration control, so that the inter-vehicle distance between vehicle LV_new and vehicle FV1_new becomes "0". In this case, the queuing controller 100 of vehicle LV can request other following vehicles FV2 to FVn to control the inter-vehicle distance to a specific distance.

[0089] Furthermore, in S106, vehicle FV1_new and vehicle LV_new can be controlled so that the inter-vehicle distance between vehicle FV1_new and vehicle LV_new becomes "0" while being centered.

[0090] In order to make the rotational torque of each of vehicles FV1_new and LV_new “0” when vehicles FV1_new and LV_new brake, the queuing driving controller 100 installed in each of vehicles FV1_new and LV_new can use camera 210 to center vehicles LV_new and FV1_new and can use radar 220 to control simultaneously so that the distance between vehicles becomes 0m.

[0091] In S107, the queuing driving controller 100 of vehicle LV_new can continue to monitor whether the inter-vehicle distance between vehicle FV1_new and vehicle LV_new becomes "0".

[0092] When the distance between vehicle FV1_new and vehicle LV_new becomes “0” (in S107), that is, when vehicle FV1_new and vehicle LV_new come into contact with each other, in S108, the queuing driving controller 100 of vehicle LV_new can use radar 220 and camera 210 to determine whether the road condition ahead is an emergency braking condition or a normal braking condition.

[0093] In other words, the platooning controller 100 of vehicle LV_new can calculate the speed of vehicle LV_new and the distance to the obstacle ahead to determine whether a collision with the obstacle can be avoided. When a collision with the obstacle ahead is unavoidable and the distance to the obstacle is short, the platooning controller 100 of vehicle LV_new can determine the road condition ahead as an emergency braking situation. When a collision with the obstacle ahead can be avoided and the distance to the obstacle is far, the platooning controller 100 of vehicle LV_new can determine the road condition ahead as a normal braking situation.

[0094] When it is determined that the road condition ahead is an emergency braking situation (Yes in S108), in S109, the platooning controller 100 of vehicle LV_new can perform high deceleration control above a predetermined reference value (e.g., 0.4g). When it is determined that the road condition ahead is a normal braking situation (No in S108), in S110, the platooning controller 100 of vehicle LV_new can perform low deceleration control below a predetermined reference value to control vehicle LV_new to brake slowly.

[0095] To prevent a rear-end collision with following vehicles while proceeding from S104 to S110, such as Figure 3A As shown, the platooning controller 100 of vehicle FV2 can increase the inter-vehicle distance from the vehicle in front and maintain it at twice the original value.

[0096] In the following text, reference will be made to Figure 4A and Figure 4B This paper describes a braking control method for a vehicle following the lead vehicle in a convoy when the brakes fail.

[0097] Figure 4A This is a diagram illustrating a braking control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure when the brake of a following vehicle immediately behind the lead vehicle in a convoy fails. Figure 4B This is a flowchart illustrating a braking control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure when the brake of a following vehicle immediately behind the lead vehicle in a convoy fails.

[0098] In the following text, it is assumed that... Figure 1 The queue driving controller 100 performs Figure 4B The processing. Furthermore, in Figure 4B In the description, the operation described as being performed by each of the vehicles in the queue can be understood as being performed by the queue driving controller 100 loaded into each of the vehicles in the queue, and can also be understood as being controlled by the processor 130 of the queue driving controller 100.

[0099] refer to Figure 4A and Figure 4B In S201, when the brake of vehicle FV1, which is immediately behind vehicle LV, fails, the queuing controller 100 of vehicle FV1 can share the failure information with following vehicles FV2 to FVn and vehicle LV in the queuing line. In this case, vehicle FV1 can provide vehicle LV with its distance from the vehicle in front, current vehicle speed, and the offset of its vehicle center from the vehicle in front. Furthermore, each of the following vehicles FV2 to FVn can send information (such as distance and vehicle speed) to vehicle LV.

[0100] In S202, the platooning controller 100 of vehicle LV can send a control command to vehicle FV1 via V2V communication, causing the inter-vehicle distance from the vehicle in front to become "0". In this case, the platooning controller 100 of vehicle LV can request other following vehicles FV2 to FVn to control their inter-vehicle distance to a specific distance.

[0101] Therefore, in S203, the queuing control 100 of vehicle FV1 can operate the sub-brake of vehicle FV1 to perform deceleration control, and the queuing control 100 of vehicle LV can perform deceleration control, so that the inter-vehicle distance between vehicle LV and vehicle FV1 becomes "0".

[0102] In this scenario, in S204, vehicles FV1 and LV can be controlled such that the inter-vehicle distance between them becomes "0" while they are centered. In other words, to ensure that the rotational torque of each of vehicles FV1 and LV is "0" when they brake, the queuing controller 100 installed in each of vehicles FV1 and LV can use a camera 210 to center vehicles LV and FV1 and can simultaneously control them using radar 220 to make the inter-vehicle distance 0m.

[0103] In S205, the queuing driving controller 100 of vehicle LV can continue to monitor whether the inter-vehicle distance between vehicle FV1 and vehicle LV becomes "0".

[0104] When the distance between vehicle FV1 and vehicle LV becomes “0” (in S205), that is, when vehicle FV1 and vehicle LV are in contact with each other, in S206, the queuing driving controller 100 of vehicle LV can use radar 220 and camera 210 to determine whether the road condition ahead is an emergency braking condition or a normal braking condition.

[0105] When it is determined that the road condition ahead is an emergency braking situation (Yes in S206), in S207, the platooning controller 100 of vehicle LV can perform high deceleration control above a predetermined reference value (e.g., 0.4g). When it is determined that the road condition ahead is a normal braking situation (No in S206), in S208, the platooning controller 100 of vehicle LV can perform low deceleration control below a predetermined reference value to control the vehicle LV to brake slowly.

[0106] To prevent rear-end collisions with following vehicles while proceeding from S204 to S208, such as Figure 4A As shown, the platooning controller 100 of vehicle FV2 can increase the inter-vehicle distance from the vehicle in front and maintain it at twice the original value.

[0107] In the following text, reference will be made to Figures 5A to 5D A description of a braking control method is given when the brakes of the last vehicle in a convoy fail.

[0108] Figure 5A This is a diagram illustrating a braking control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure when the brake of the last vehicle in a platoon fails. Figure 5B This is a flowchart illustrating a braking control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure when the brake of the last vehicle in a platoon fails. Figure 5C and Figure 5D This is a diagram illustrating vehicle deployment during braking control when the brakes of the last vehicle in a platoon fail, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0109] In the following text, it is assumed that... Figure 1 The queue driving controller 100 performs Figure 5B The processing. Furthermore, in Figure 5B In the description, the operation described as being performed by each of the vehicles in the queue can be understood as being performed by the queue driving controller 100 loaded into each of the vehicles in the queue, and can also be understood as being controlled by the processor 130 of the queue driving controller 100.

[0110] refer to Figure 5A and Figure 5B In S301, when the brakes of vehicle FVn, which is the tail vehicle, fail, the platooning controller 100 of vehicle FVn can share the failure information with following vehicles FV2 to FVn and vehicle LV in the platooning line. In this case, vehicle FVn can provide vehicle LV with the distance between itself and the vehicle in front, its current speed, and the offset of its center from the vehicle in front. Furthermore, each of the following vehicles FV1 to FVn-1 can send information (such as distance between itself and vehicle speed) to vehicle LV.

[0111] In S302, the queuing controller 100 of vehicle LV can determine the number of vehicles participating in queuing. In S303, when the number of vehicles in queuing is less than 3, the queuing controller 100 of vehicle LV may be unable to perform vehicle settings for braking control.

[0112] When the number of vehicles in the queue is 3, in S304, the queue driving controller 100 of vehicle LV can move vehicle LV to the end of the queue driving line and can grant vehicle LV_new permission to vehicle FV1.

[0113] In S305, the queuing controller 100 of vehicle LV can change the faulty vehicle FV2 to FV1_new, can change vehicle LV to vehicle FV2_new, and can change vehicle FV1 to vehicle LV_new, thus enabling communication with… Figure 3B The same process is used in S103 to S110 to perform braking control. Figure 5CThis is an instance of a queuing system consisting of three vehicles (LV, FV1, and FV2). It can be seen that when vehicle FV2 malfunctions and the permissions of vehicle LV are granted to vehicle FV1 to reset vehicle deployment, the queuing controller 100 of vehicle LV moves vehicle LV behind vehicle FV2.

[0114] Meanwhile, when the number of vehicles in the queue is greater than 3, in S306, the queue driving controller 100 of vehicle LV can send a command to vehicle FVn-2, which is driving in front of the last vehicle, via V2V communication, so that it can move behind the last vehicle.

[0115] In S307, the queuing driving controller 100 of vehicle LV can change vehicle FVn-2 to vehicle FVn_new, can change vehicle FVn-1 to vehicle FVn-2_new, and can change vehicle FVn (the faulty vehicle) to vehicle FVn-1_new.

[0116] In S308, the platooning controller 100 of vehicle LV can send control commands to vehicle FVn-1_new via V2V communication, making the inter-vehicle distance to the vehicle in front "0".

[0117] Therefore, in S309, the queuing control 100 of vehicle FVn-1_new can operate the sub-brake of vehicle FVn-1_new to perform deceleration control, and the queuing control 100 of vehicle FVn-2_new can perform deceleration control, so that the inter-vehicle distance between vehicle FVn-2_new and vehicle FVn-1_new becomes "0".

[0118] Furthermore, in S310, vehicles FVn-2_new and FVn-1_new can be controlled such that the inter-vehicle distance between them becomes "0" while they are centered. In other words, in order to make the rotational torque of each of vehicles FVn-2_new and FVn-1_new "0" when they brake, the queuing controller 100 in each of vehicles FVn-2_new and FVn-1new can use camera 210 to center them and can use radar 220 to simultaneously control the inter-vehicle distance to 0m.

[0119] In S311, the queuing driving controller 100 of vehicle FVn-2_new can continue to monitor whether the inter-vehicle distance between vehicle FVn-2_new and vehicle FVn-1_new becomes "0".

[0120] When the distance between vehicles FVn-2_new and FVn-1_new becomes “0” (in S311), that is, when vehicles FVn-2_new and FVn-1_new come into contact with each other, in S312, the platoon driving controller 100 of vehicle FVn-2_new can use radar 220 and camera 210 to determine whether the road condition ahead is an emergency braking condition or a normal braking condition.

[0121] When it is determined that the road condition ahead is an emergency braking situation (Yes in S312), in S313, the platooning controller 100 of vehicle FVn-2_new can perform high deceleration control above a predetermined reference value (e.g., 0.4g). When it is determined that the road condition ahead is a normal braking situation (No in S312), in S314, the platooning controller 100 of vehicle FVn-2_new can perform low deceleration control below a predetermined reference value to control vehicle FVn-2_new to brake slowly.

[0122] To prevent rear-end collisions with following vehicles while traveling from S308 to S314, such as Figure 5A As shown, the queuing driving controller 100 of vehicle FVn_new can increase the vehicle-to-vehicle distance from the vehicle in front and maintain it at twice the original value.

[0123] Figure 5D An instance was disclosed where there were more than 3 vehicles in a platoon and the last vehicle FVn malfunctioned. An instance was also disclosed where vehicle FVn-2 moved to the end of the platoon and the vehicle deployment was reset to perform braking control.

[0124] In the following text, reference will be made to Figure 6A and Figure 6B A description of a braking control method is given when the brakes of a following vehicle located in the middle of a convoy fail.

[0125] Figure 6A This is a diagram illustrating a braking control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure when the brake of a following vehicle located in the middle of a queuing line fails. Figure 6B This is a flowchart illustrating a braking control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure when the brake of a following vehicle located in the middle of a queuing line fails.

[0126] In the following text, it is assumed that... Figure 1 The queue driving controller 100 performs Figure 6B The processing. Furthermore, in Figure 6BIn the description, the operation described as being performed by each of the vehicles in the queue can be understood as being performed by the queue driving controller 100 loaded into each of the vehicles in the queue, and can also be understood as being controlled by the processor 130 of the queue driving controller 100.

[0127] refer to Figure 6A and Figure 6B In S401, when the brakes of vehicle FV2 fail, the queuing controller 100 of vehicle FV2 can share the failure information with following vehicles FV1, FV3 to FV, and vehicle LV in the queuing line. In this case, vehicle FV1 can provide vehicle LV with the distance to the vehicle ahead, the current vehicle speed, and the offset of the vehicle center from the vehicle ahead. Furthermore, each of the following vehicles FV2 to FVn can send information (such as distance to the vehicle and vehicle speed) to vehicle LV.

[0128] In S402, the platooning controller 100 of vehicle LV can send control commands to vehicle FV2 via V2V communication, making the inter-vehicle distance to the vehicle in front "0". In this case, the platooning controller 100 of vehicle LV can request other following vehicles FV1, FV3 to FVn to control their inter-vehicle distance to a specific distance.

[0129] Therefore, in S403, the queuing control 100 of vehicle FV2 can operate the sub-brake of vehicle FV2 to perform deceleration control, and the queuing control 100 of vehicle FV1 can perform deceleration control, so that the inter-vehicle distance between vehicle FV1 and vehicle FV2 becomes "0".

[0130] In this scenario, in S404, vehicles FV1 and FV2 can be controlled such that the inter-vehicle distance between them becomes "0" while they are centered. In other words, to ensure that the rotational torque of each of vehicles FV1 and FV2 is "0" when they brake, the queuing controller 100 installed in each of vehicles FV1 and FV2 can use a camera 210 to center vehicles FV2 and FV1 and can simultaneously control them using radar 220 to make the inter-vehicle distance 0m.

[0131] In S405, the platooning controller 100 of vehicle FV2 can continue to monitor whether the inter-vehicle distance between vehicle FV1 and vehicle FV2 becomes "0".

[0132] When the distance between vehicle FV1 and vehicle FV2 becomes “0” (in S405), that is, when vehicle FV1 and vehicle FV2 come into contact with each other, in S406, the platoon driving controller 100 of vehicle FV1 can use radar 220 and camera 210 to determine whether the road condition ahead is an emergency braking condition or a normal braking condition.

[0133] When it is determined that the road condition ahead is an emergency braking situation (Yes in S406), in S407, the platooning controller 100 of vehicle FV1 can perform high deceleration control above a predetermined reference value (e.g., 0.4g). When it is determined that the road condition ahead is a normal braking situation (No in S406), in S408, the platooning controller 100 of vehicle FV1 can perform low deceleration control below a predetermined reference value to control vehicle FV1 to brake slowly.

[0134] To prevent rear-end collisions with following vehicles while traveling from S402 to S408, such as Figure 6A As shown, the platooning controller 100 of vehicle FV3 can increase the inter-vehicle distance from the vehicle in front and maintain it at twice the original value.

[0135] Thus, when a vehicle with a brake failure is present in the queuing line during queuing, embodiments of this disclosure can use a control strategy that shares information about the failed vehicle and safely stops the vehicle to ensure vehicle stability.

[0136] Figure 7 This is a block diagram illustrating a computing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0137] refer to Figure 7 The computing system 1000 may include at least one processor 1100, memory 1300, user interface input device 1400, user interface output device 1500, memory 1600, and network interface 1700, which are connected to each other via a bus 1200.

[0138] Processor 1100 may be a central processing unit (CPU) or a semiconductor device that processes instructions stored in memory 1300 and / or storage 1600. Memory 1300 and storage 1600 may include different types of volatile or non-volatile storage media. For example, storage 1300 may include ROM (Read-Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory).

[0139] Therefore, the operation of the methods or algorithms described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be directly embodied in hardware or software modules, or combinations thereof, executed by processor 1100. Software modules can reside on storage media (i.e., memory and / or storage), such as RAM, flash memory, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, registers, hard disks, removable disks, and CD-ROMs.

[0140] An exemplary storage medium may be coupled to processor 1100, and processor 1100 may read information from and record information in the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium may be integrated with processor 1100. The processor and storage medium may reside in an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The ASIC may reside within the user terminal. In another scenario, the processor and storage medium may reside as separate components in the user terminal.

[0141] This technology can proactively control the braking of vehicles with malfunctioning brakes during platooning based on surrounding road conditions, thereby reducing braking distance and bringing the malfunctioning vehicle to a stop without colliding with or damaging surrounding vehicles.

[0142] In addition, various effects that can be directly or indirectly determined through this disclosure may be provided.

[0143] While the present disclosure has been described above with reference to exemplary embodiments and accompanying drawings, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Various modifications and changes can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as claimed in the appended claims.

[0144] Therefore, the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure are provided to explain the spirit and scope of this disclosure, and not to limit them, so that the spirit and scope of this disclosure are not limited by the embodiments. The scope of this disclosure should be interpreted in accordance with the appended claims, and all technical concepts within the scope of the claims should be included within the scope of this disclosure.

Claims

1. A queue driving controller, comprising: The processor is configured to share information about the first vehicle in the queuing vehicle group with the other vehicles in the queuing vehicle group when the brake of the first vehicle in the queuing vehicle group fails during queuing travel, and to perform braking control. as well as A non-transitory storage medium is configured to store data and algorithms used for queuing and braking control by the processor. The processor is configured to execute the algorithm to rearrange the platoon of vehicles according to the position of the first platoon of vehicles in the platoon line, to decelerate the first platoon of vehicles and the second platoon of vehicles in front of the first platoon of vehicles, and to center the first platoon of vehicles and the second platoon of vehicles to perform the braking control, and to execute the algorithm to control the first platoon of vehicles such that when the first platoon of vehicles and the second platoon of vehicles are centered, the inter-vehicle distance between the first platoon of vehicles and the second platoon of vehicles becomes "0".

2. The queue driving controller according to claim 1, wherein, The processor is configured to execute the algorithm to determine whether the road condition when the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicles in the first queue and the vehicles in the second queue becomes "0" is an emergency braking condition or a normal braking condition.

3. The queue driving controller according to claim 2, wherein, The processor is configured to execute the algorithm so that: When the distance to an obstacle ahead is short and a collision with the obstacle ahead cannot be avoided, the road condition is determined to be the emergency braking condition. and When the distance to the obstacle ahead is long and a collision with the obstacle ahead can be avoided, the road condition is determined to be the normal braking condition.

4. The queue driving controller according to claim 3, wherein, The processor is configured to execute the algorithm so that: When the road condition is the emergency braking condition, the second convoy of vehicles is controlled to brake at a predetermined reference value or greater; and When the road condition is the normal braking condition, the second platoon of vehicles is controlled to brake at a deceleration less than the predetermined reference value.

5. The queue driving controller according to claim 1, wherein, The first vehicle in the convoy is the lead vehicle in the group of vehicles in the convoy, and the processor is configured to execute the algorithm such that: Grant the lead vehicle the authority to the first vehicle following it; and When the brakes of the lead vehicle fail, the first following vehicle is controlled to move in front of the lead vehicle, so that the first following vehicle becomes a vehicle in the second convoy.

6. The queue driving controller according to claim 1, wherein, The second convoy vehicle is the lead vehicle of the convoy vehicle group, wherein the processor is configured to execute the algorithm such that when the brakes of the first convoy vehicle fail, the main braking device of the second convoy vehicle is used to perform deceleration control and the sub-braking device of the first convoy vehicle is used to perform deceleration control, such that the inter-vehicle distance between the second convoy vehicle and the first convoy vehicle becomes "0".

7. The queue driving controller according to claim 1, wherein, The last vehicle in the queuing vehicle group is the first queuing vehicle, and the processor is configured to execute the algorithm to determine the number of queuing vehicles in the queuing vehicle group when the brakes of the first queuing vehicle fail.

8. The queue driving controller according to claim 7, wherein, The processor is configured to send a command to move to the vehicle in front of the tail vehicle when the number of vehicles in the queue exceeds a predetermined number.

9. The queue driving controller according to claim 8, wherein, The processor is configured to send a control command to the vehicles in the first queue, such that the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicles in the first queue and the vehicles in the second queue becomes "0".

10. The queue driving controller according to claim 9, wherein, The processor is configured to execute the algorithm so that: The vehicles in the first platoon are controlled to use a sub-braking device to perform deceleration control; and The vehicles in the second platoon are controlled to use the main braking device to perform deceleration control.

11. The queue driving controller according to claim 7, wherein, The processor is configured to execute the algorithm such that when the number of vehicles in the queue is 3, it controls the lead vehicle of the queue to move to the end of the queue line.

12. The queue driving controller according to claim 1, wherein, The processor is configured to execute the algorithm to control a third platoon of vehicles following the first platoon of vehicles to increase the inter-vehicle distance between the first platoon of vehicles and the third platoon of vehicles during braking control of the first platoon of vehicles.

13. A vehicle comprising: The sensing device is configured to sense information used for platooning. The sub-braking device is configured to brake when the main braking device fails; as well as The queue driving controller is configured as follows: Information about the vehicle is shared when the vehicle is a queuing vehicle in a queuing vehicle group in a queuing line and when the vehicle's brakes fail during queuing. Receive instructions for rearranging the platooned vehicle group according to the position of the vehicle in the platoon line. Receive an instruction to slow down the vehicle along with the second platoon of vehicles ahead of it. Receive an instruction to center the vehicle together with the vehicles in the second platoon to perform braking control; and The vehicle is controlled such that, when the vehicle is centered with the vehicles in the second platoon, the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle and the vehicles in the second platoon becomes "0".

14. The vehicle according to claim 13, wherein, The sensing device is configured to sense the inter-vehicle distance between the second platoon of vehicles in front of the vehicle and the third platoon of vehicles behind the vehicle, the vehicle speed, or the offset of the center of the second platoon of vehicles in front of the vehicle.

15. A braking control method, comprising: When the brake of the first vehicle in a queuing vehicle group fails during queuing, information about the first vehicle in the queuing is shared with the other vehicles in the queuing vehicle group. The vehicle group in the first queue is rearranged according to the position of the vehicles in the queue line. The vehicles in the first queue and the vehicles in the second queue in front of the vehicles in the first queue shall slow down. Center the vehicles in the first queue and the vehicles in the second queue to perform braking control; as well as Control the vehicles in the first queue to make the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicles in the first queue and the vehicles in the second queue "0" when the vehicles in the first queue are centered.

16. The braking control method according to claim 15, wherein, Performing the braking control includes: Determine whether the road condition when the distance between vehicles in the first platoon and vehicles in the second platoon becomes "0" is an emergency braking situation or a normal braking situation. When the road condition is the emergency braking condition, the vehicles in the second platoon are controlled to decelerate at a predetermined reference value or greater; and When the road condition is the normal braking condition, the vehicles in the second platoon are controlled to decelerate at a rate less than the predetermined reference value.

17. The braking control method according to claim 15, wherein, The first vehicle in the convoy is the lead vehicle of the convoy, wherein rearranging the convoy includes: Grant the lead vehicle the authority to the first following vehicle; and When the brakes of the lead vehicle fail, the first following vehicle is controlled to move in front of the lead vehicle, and then the first following vehicle becomes the second convoy of vehicles.

18. The braking control method according to claim 15, wherein, The second convoy vehicle is the lead vehicle of the convoy vehicle group, and the rearrangement of the convoy vehicle group includes: performing deceleration control using the main braking device of the lead vehicle when the brakes of the first convoy vehicle fail, and performing deceleration control using the sub-braking devices of the first convoy vehicle.

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