Method, controller and computer program product for determining the position of a motor vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for determining the position of a motor vehicle, wherein firstly a first position (x ) is determined via a positioning device of the motor vehicle in relation to the installation location of the positioning device in the motor vehicle. 1 ). In order to determine a position suitable for adjusting the motor vehicle, according to the first position (x 1 ) determines the second position (x) relative to the center of gravity of the vehicle 2 ), which is: the compensation first position (x 1 ).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a method for determining the position of a motor vehicle, wherein a first position is first determined via a positioning device of the motor vehicle in relation to the installation location of the positioning device in the motor vehicle. The invention also relates to a method, a control unit, a computer program product and a data carrier for adjusting a motor vehicle. Background Art

[0002] Motor vehicles are usually equipped with a positioning device, via which the current position of the respective motor vehicle can be determined. In addition to navigation, the current position of the motor vehicle is often used to adjust various devices in the motor vehicle, such as driver assistance systems. Thus, for example, it is possible to react in a partially proactive manner to specific events on the route ahead by adjusting the motor vehicle transmission of the respective motor vehicle accordingly. However, the current position of the motor vehicle is also used in part to verify data detected via other sensors based on data already known via the current position.

[0003] Thus, DE 10 2008 026 370 A1 discloses a method for regulating a motor vehicle, wherein, for regulating the motor vehicle, in particular the longitudinal acceleration of the motor vehicle is determined via sensors. In order to determine the sensitivity and measurement deviation of the sensors, the speed of the motor vehicle in the longitudinal direction is additionally determined based on data from a positioning device that can determine the position of the motor vehicle. The speed of the motor vehicle in the longitudinal direction is determined here with respect to the center of gravity of the motor vehicle, wherein the position of the positioning device is taken into account for this purpose. Summary of the invention

[0004] Starting from the above-mentioned prior art, it is now the object of the present invention to provide a method for determining the position of a motor vehicle, wherein the type of determination of the position of the motor vehicle is suitable for regulating the motor vehicle.

[0005] This object is achieved based on the method according to the invention for determining the position of a motor vehicle. Advantageous developments of the invention are described in detail below.

[0006] According to the invention, in a method for determining the position of a motor vehicle, a first position of the motor vehicle is first determined via a positioning device of the motor vehicle in relation to the installation location of the positioning device in the motor vehicle. In the course of the method according to the invention, therefore, a first position of the motor vehicle is first determined, wherein the determination is hereby carried out via the positioning device of the motor vehicle and the first position is hereby related to the installation location of the positioning device. The latter means that the first position is related to the installation location of the positioning device in the motor vehicle, wherein the installation location in the longitudinal direction of the motor vehicle is decisive here.

[0007] For the purposes of the present invention, "determining the position of the motor vehicle" is understood to mean determining the position of the motor vehicle, ie, in particular its current position in a geographic coordinate system. Thus, the first position associated with the installation location of the positioning device of the motor vehicle is in fact the geographic location of the positioning device.

[0008] The invention includes the following technical teaching: a second position related to the center of gravity of the vehicle is determined from a first position by calculating the first position as a compensation of the distance between the installation location of the locating device and the center of gravity of the vehicle. In other words, within the scope of the method according to the invention, a second position representing the geographical situation of the center of gravity of the motor vehicle is derived from a first position known by means of a locating device of the motor vehicle and related to its installation location. The second position is determined from the first position in this case by determining in the motor vehicle the distance between the installation location of the locating device in the motor vehicle and the center of gravity of the vehicle and calculating the compensation of the first position as a compensation of the distance.

[0009] This method for determining the position of a motor vehicle has the following advantages: by knowing the position of the center of gravity of the motor vehicle, a position of the motor vehicle suitable for adjusting various functions such as driver assistance systems is known. Because in particular for predictive regulation based on the road ahead of the motor vehicle, knowing the current position of the center of gravity of the motor vehicle as accurately as possible is important for the precise implementation of the regulation in terms of time. For example, if the shifting process in the transmission of the motor vehicle is regulated in view of the road ahead of the motor vehicle, then in very long motor vehicles and when the distance between the positioning device and the center of gravity of the vehicle is too large, the regulation of these shifting processes based on the position determined by the positioning device leads to the shifting process being carried out too early or too late. In contrast, by carrying out the respective regulation based on the position related to the center of gravity of the vehicle, an accurate regulation can be achieved. By taking into account the distance between the installation point of the positioning device and the center of gravity of the vehicle, the second position related to the center of gravity of the vehicle can now be easily derived from the first position.

[0010] In DE 10 2008 026 370 A1, the speed of a motor vehicle in the longitudinal direction is determined from data of a positioning device of the motor vehicle. The speed is determined here with respect to the center of gravity of the motor vehicle, wherein the position of the positioning device is included for this purpose. However, there is no description here of deriving a further position of the motor vehicle related to the center of gravity of the vehicle based on the position determined via the positioning device. It is also not disclosed how the speed related to the center of gravity of the vehicle is derived and how the installation location of the positioning device is taken into account.

[0011] In the context of the present invention, "vehicle center of gravity" is understood to be the center of mass of the motor vehicle. The spacing between a first position and a second position related to this center of mass of the motor vehicle is the distance between the two positions in the longitudinal direction of the motor vehicle.

[0012] In the context of the invention, the locating device is in particular fixedly mounted on an installation location of the motor vehicle, but can also be present as a detachable unit. It is important that the position detected by the locating device at the corresponding location is available for calculating the compensation with the distance and for determining the position relative to the center of gravity of the vehicle. Preferably, the locating device must be connected to the control unit or can be connected thereto for this purpose.

[0013] According to one embodiment of the invention, the first position is determined using satellite-based position determination. The first position can thereby be determined in a manner that has proven to be advantageous. This is particularly preferably accomplished here with the aid of a GPS system, since such a system is present in most motor vehicles anyway. In a refinement of this embodiment, the first position is then determined via a positioning device in the form of an antenna. In conjunction with the satellite-based position determination, the first position can thereby be determined in a suitable manner.

[0014] According to another design possibility of the present invention, the distance between the installation point and the center of gravity of the vehicle is determined in the following manner, that is, a curve of a parameter calculated from a physical variable is compared with a curve of the parameter that is known from the route parameters of the driving route of the motor vehicle taking into account the positioning device. The distance is thus determined in the following manner, that is, two curves of the parameter that are known in different ways and methods are compared with each other. Here, one curve of the parameter is calculated based on the physical variable, and the other curve is known from the route parameters, which are determined taking into account the positioning device and are assigned to one of the motor vehicles, especially the driving route ahead. Here, the curves are assigned to the same parameters, but are known in different ways and methods.

[0015] In a development of the aforementioned design possibility, the driving resistance of the motor vehicle is used as a parameter. In this respect, the curve of this driving resistance is determined on the one hand by physical variables of the motor vehicle, such as the torque of the motor vehicle's drive engine, the acceleration of the motor vehicle, the mass of the motor vehicle, etc., while the other curve of the driving resistance is determined by the route parameters of the driving route, wherein the route parameters may be not only the respective position but also the slope, etc.

[0016] Alternatively or additionally, a time offset between the curve calculated from the physical variable and the curve calculated from the route parameter is determined from the comparison, wherein the distance between the positioning device and the center of gravity is determined from the time offset and the current driving speed of the motor vehicle. The distance can thus be derived in a simple manner by calculation and from the available data.

[0017] In the sense of the invention, the determination of the distance between the positioning device and the vehicle center of gravity can be performed at a fixed predetermined time or can also be performed when a specific situation occurs. For example, the determination of the distance can be started each time the motor vehicle is started.

[0018] In a further development of the invention, the following distance is also taken into account when calculating the second position, which distance is known from the time that has passed since the first position was determined and the current driving speed of the motor vehicle. Accordingly, the time period for determining the first position is also taken into account when determining the second position, because the vehicle may have traveled a further driving distance since the first position was determined. As a result, the accuracy of determining the second position can be increased.

[0019] The invention also relates to a method for regulating a motor vehicle, wherein a position of the motor vehicle determined by the method according to one or more of the above-described variants is taken into account for the regulation. According to one embodiment of the invention, a shifting process in a transmission of the motor vehicle is regulated as a function of the vehicle position, wherein this is preferably carried out in a forward-looking manner with regard to a driving route ahead of the motor vehicle.

[0020] The invention also relates to a control unit, which is preferably a transmission control unit. The control unit is designed to first determine a first position related to the mounting location of the positioning device in the motor vehicle via a positioning device of the motor vehicle and to determine a second position related to the center of gravity of the vehicle based on the first position, in that the control unit calculates the first position to compensate for the distance between the mounting location of the positioning device and the center of gravity of the vehicle. The control unit is also designed to carry out the method according to one or more of the above-mentioned variants.

[0021] The method according to the present invention can also be embodied as a computer program product, which, when executed on a processor, such as a processor of the above-mentioned controller, instructs the processor through software to execute the associated method steps according to the subject of the present invention. Here, the subject of the present invention also includes a computer-readable medium, on which the above-mentioned computer program product is stored in a callable manner.

[0022] The invention is not limited to the given combination of features of the parallel or dependent claims. Individual features can also be combined with one another as long as they are apparent from the claims, from the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention or directly from the drawings. References in the claims to the drawings by means of reference numerals are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] An advantageous embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings and will be described below.

[0024] Figure 1 A schematic view of a drive train of a motor vehicle is shown;

[0025] Figure 2 a flowchart diagram showing a method for determining the position of a motor vehicle according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

[0026] FIG. 3A to FIG. 3D The diagram shows an embodiment for determining the distance of a locating device from a vehicle center of gravity of a motor vehicle within the scope of a method. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] Figure 1 The schematic diagram of a drive train 1 of a motor vehicle, which is preferably a commercial vehicle, for example a truck, is shown. The drive train 1 comprises a drive engine 2, which is preferably present as an internal combustion engine and is followed on the output side by a motor vehicle transmission 3. A torsional vibration damper and / or a starting element, via which a transmission connection between the drive engine 2 and the motor vehicle transmission 3 can be established and also disconnected, can be provided between the drive engine 2 and the motor vehicle transmission 3, and the torsional vibration damper and / or the starting element can be designed as a disconnect clutch or a torque converter. The motor vehicle transmission 3 is in particular an automated manual transmission or an automatic transmission, wherein the motor vehicle transmission 3 can be designed in a group construction and can consist of a plurality of individual transmissions.

[0028] Also within the drive train 1 , downstream of the motor vehicle transmission 3 , there is a differential 4 , via which the drive power is distributed to the drive wheels 5 and 6 of a drive axle 7 .

[0029] The drive machine 2 is assigned a motor controller 8, via which the operation of the drive machine 2 is regulated. The motor controller 8 is connected here together with a further controller 9 into a data bus system 10 of the motor vehicle, wherein in addition to the motor controller 8 and the controller 9, in particular further controllers are part of the data bus system 10. The individual controllers can exchange data with one another via the data bus system 10. In the present case, the controller 9 is a transmission controller of the motor vehicle transmission 3, via which in particular shifting processes in the motor vehicle transmission 3 can be regulated.

[0030] In the present case, the control unit 9 can proactively design the shifting processes in the motor vehicle transmission 3 in view of the road section to be traveled by the motor vehicle and thus adapt them to the upcoming driving situation. Thus, for example, an upcoming road uphill slope or a long downhill section can be reacted to by a targeted downshift in the motor vehicle transmission 3, so that in the latter case the more effective drag torque of the drive machine 2 can be utilized. On the other hand, by early upshifting in the motor vehicle transmission 3, a fuel-saving operation of the drive machine 2 can be achieved in view of the upcoming road section. In addition to the information about the road section to be traveled, information about the current position of the motor vehicle must also be provided to the control unit 9. For this purpose, the control unit 9 is connected to a positioning device 11 of the motor vehicle, which is preferably an antenna of a GPS system. Here, the satellite-assisted position determination of the motor vehicle can be performed via the GPS system.

[0031] However, for regulating the shifting process in the motor vehicle transmission 3, it is advantageous to know the position in relation to the vehicle center of gravity of the motor vehicle in order to be able to initiate the shifting as precisely as possible at the right time. In particular in the case of very long motor vehicles, for example in a truck with one or more trailers, the position detected by the positioning device 11 may partially deviate significantly from the position in relation to the vehicle center of gravity, so that when using the position in relation to the positioning device 11, a shifting operation may be performed too early or too late.

[0032] For this reason, the determination of the position of the motor vehicle is currently carried out within the scope of the method according to the invention, which is implemented according to a preferred embodiment of the invention and by which the position of the motor vehicle in relation to the vehicle's center of gravity can be determined. Figure 2 As shown, the figure shows an exemplary flow chart of the method according to the present invention, at the beginning of the method, in step S1, first a first position x1 is queried, which is related to the installation position of the positioning device 11 in the motor vehicle and is queried by the controller 9 to the positioning device 11. Subsequently, in step S2, the distance a between the positioning device 11 and the respective vehicle center of gravity of the motor vehicle is obtained.

[0033] The distance a is determined here according to the driving resistance F of the motor vehicle. W The various curves of Figure 3A As shown in the schematic diagram. Figure 3A is the driving resistance F W Curve diagram over time t. In this case, curve 12 reflects the driving resistance F WThe curve 13 or 13' or 13" is calculated from physical variables, for which variables such as the engine torque, acceleration and vehicle mass are used. In contrast, the respective curve 13 or 13' or 13" is determined based on the route parameters of the preceding driving route, taking into account the positioning device 11. The curve 13 reflects Figure 3B The driving resistance F in the case of a motor vehicle shown in W The curve 13' is associated with Figure 3C The motor vehicle in the curve 13 "is assigned to Figure 3D Here, in FIG. 3B to FIG. 3D 1 and 2 show the mounting location 14 of the positioning device in the front region of the motor vehicle relative to the respective vehicle center of gravity 15 or 15 ′ or 15 ″.

[0034] During step S2, the curve 12 and the current driving speed v Fzg The respective time offset Δt or Δt' or Δt" between the respective curves 13 or 13' or 13" is calculated according to the following formula

[0035] a=Δt·v Fzg

[0036] The respective spacing a is derived by calculation.

[0037] Using the distance a thus determined, a second position x2 is then calculated in a further step S3 in relation to the center of gravity of the respective vehicle, wherein the time t that has elapsed since the determination of the first position x1 is additionally taken into account. x1 The calculation of the second position x2 is here implemented according to the following formula:

[0038] x2=x1+t x1 ·v Fzg +a.

[0039] This second position x2 is then subsequently used to adjust the motor vehicle transmission 3 .

[0040] With the aid of the method according to the invention for determining the position of a motor vehicle, a position suitable for adjusting the motor vehicle can be determined in a simple manner.

[0041] Reference numerals list

[0042] 1. Drive system

[0043] 2 Driver

[0044] 3 Motor vehicle transmission

[0045] 4 Differential

[0046] 5 Drive wheels

[0047] 6 Drive wheels

[0048] 7 Drive axle

[0049] 8 Motor controller

[0050] 9 Controller

[0051] 10 Data bus system

[0052] 11 Positioning device

[0053] 12 Curve

[0054] 13, 13', 13" curve

[0055] 14 Installation location

[0056] 15, 15', 15" Vehicle center of gravity

[0057] x1 first position

[0058] a Spacing

[0059] F W Driving resistance

[0060] t time

[0061] Δt, Δt', Δt" Time offset

[0062] v Fzg Vehicle speed

[0063] x2 Second position

[0064] t x1 time

[0065] S1 to S3 Single step

Claims

1. A method for determining the position of a motor vehicle, wherein: First, a first position (x1) related to a mounting position (14) of the positioning device (11) in the motor vehicle is obtained via a positioning device (11) of the motor vehicle, wherein a second position (x2) related to a center of gravity (15; 15'; 15") of the vehicle is determined based on the first position (x1), in the manner of: calculating and compensating the first position (x1) with a distance (a) between the mounting position (14) of the positioning device (11) and the center of gravity (15; 15'; 15") of the vehicle, characterized in that the distance (a) between the mounting position (14) and the center of gravity (15; 15'; 15") of the vehicle is determined in the following manner, that is, the running resistance (F W ) calculated from the physical parameters (12) and the driving resistance (F W ) is compared with a curve (13; 13'; 13") which is known from route parameters of the travel route of the motor vehicle while taking into account the positioning device (11).

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first position (x1) is known using satellite supported position determination.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The first position (x1) is known via a positioning device (11) in the form of an antenna.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that By means of the comparison, a time offset (Δt; Δt'; Δt") between a curve (12) calculated from physical variables and a curve (13; 13'; 13") calculated from route parameters is determined, wherein a distance (a) between the installation location (14) and the center of gravity (15; 15'; 15") of the vehicle is determined from the time offset (Δt; Δt'; Δt") and the current driving speed (v Fzg ) to determine.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that When calculating the second position (x2), the following distance is also taken into account, which is determined by the time (t x1 ) and current driving speed (v Fzg ) to find out.

6. A method for regulating a motor vehicle, wherein: The position of the motor vehicle determined by the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 is taken into account for the regulation.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that A shifting process in a motor vehicle transmission (3) is regulated as a function of the position of the motor vehicle.

8. A controller, the controller being configured to first obtain, via a positioning device (11) of a motor vehicle, a first position (x1) associated with a mounting location (14) of the positioning device (11) in the motor vehicle and to determine, with the aid of the first position (x1), a second position (x2) associated with a center of gravity (15; 15'; 15") of the vehicle, in such a way that the controller (9) calculates and compensates the first position (x1) using a distance (a) between the mounting location (14) of the positioning device (11) and the center of gravity (15; 15'; 15") of the vehicle, wherein: The distance (a) between the mounting point (14) and the center of gravity (15; 15'; 15") of the vehicle is determined by taking the running resistance (F W ) calculated from the physical parameters (12) and the driving resistance (F W ) is compared with a curve (13; 13'; 13") which is known from route parameters of the travel route of the motor vehicle while taking into account the positioning device (11). 9 . The controller according to claim 8 , via which the method according to any one of claims 2 to 3 can also be executed.

10. The controller according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that: The controller is a transmission controller.

11. A computer program product for a controller (9) according to any one of claims 8 to 10, by means of which the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 can be performed, wherein: The sequence for determining the position of the motor vehicle is implemented by corresponding control instructions stored in the software.

12. Computer-readable medium having a computer program product according to claim 11.

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