Vehicle platooning method and apparatus

Abstract

A vehicle platooning method includes an information collection operation, in which a leading vehicle in a platoon receives information from and inspects other vehicles in the platoon; and a determination operation, in which, upon receiving a request to join the platoon from an external vehicle not participating in the platoon, the leading vehicle receives information about the external vehicle and determines whether to approve the request to join the platoon. The result and reason for the determination are notified to the external vehicle. The method can determine a vehicle arrangement when the external vehicle joins the platoon to minimize damage in the event of an accident.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application is based on and claims the benefit of priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0088423 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on July 6, 2021, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for vehicle platooning, and more particularly, to a technology for a method and apparatus for vehicle platooning, wherein, when an external vehicle requests to join a platoon fleet in a platoon situation, cargo information and passenger information of the external vehicle can be received to determine whether the external vehicle is allowed to join the platoon, and when the external vehicle joins the platoon fleet, vehicle arrangement can be determined to minimize damage in the event of an accident. Background Art

[0004] A vehicle is a device that uses its wheels to transport people or goods from one place to another. Examples include two-wheeled vehicles like motorcycles, four-wheeled vehicles like cars, and trains.

[0005] To improve the safety and convenience of users using vehicles, technologies for integrating various sensors and electronic devices into vehicles are developing at an accelerated pace.

[0006] In particular, systems that provide various functions (eg, smart cruise control and lane keeping assist) developed for user's driving convenience are mounted on vehicles.

[0007] As a result, so-called automated driving has become possible, in which the vehicle itself takes into account the external environment and drives on the road without the need for driver control.

[0008] Furthermore, as a technology related to vehicle driving, the concept of platooning has been proposed.

[0009] Platooning can mean multiple vehicles grouped into a group traveling together to a specific destination while sharing driving information with each other and taking the external environment into account.

[0010] A convoy may include a leading vehicle and following vehicles. The leading vehicle is the vehicle at the front of the convoy leading the convoy, while the following vehicles are the vehicles following the leading vehicle.

[0011] Following vehicles in a convoy can use the driving information of the lead vehicle (e.g., GPS coordinates, speed, route, direction, and braking information) transmitted through a vehicle-to-vehicle communication method or the like to maintain following the lead vehicle.

[0012] Therefore, the driver of the following vehicle can freely perform actions other than driving indoors (for example, smartphone operation or sleeping). Through such a formation, the convenience of the driver can be increased and the transportation efficiency can be improved.

[0013] At the same time, when an external vehicle (i.e., a vehicle not participating in the platoon) requests to join the platoon, the external vehicle is generally allowed to join the platoon, provided that the destination or direction is the same, regardless of the cargo and passenger information of the external vehicle. Therefore, there is a risk that even a small accident may develop into a large-scale accident, causing huge losses.

[0014] The above description of the background technology is only used to help understand the background of the present disclosure, and those skilled in the art should not consider that the above description corresponds to the known prior art. Summary of the Invention

[0015] This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that will be further described in the detailed description below. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0016] In one general aspect, a vehicle platooning method includes: an information collection operation in which a leading vehicle in a platoon receives information from and checks other vehicles in the platoon; and a determination operation in which, upon receiving a request to join the platoon from an external vehicle not participating in the platoon, the leading vehicle receives information about the external vehicle and determines whether to approve the request to join the platoon. The external vehicle is notified of a result and a reason for the determination.

[0017] During the information collection operation, the leader vehicle can view the total number of vehicles participating in the platoon, the layout information between the vehicles, the cargo information of each vehicle, or the passenger information of the vehicles.

[0018] The external vehicle information received by the leading vehicle during the determination operation may include cargo information, passenger information, and final destination information.

[0019] In the determination operation, the leader vehicle can: assuming that an external vehicle joins the platoon, check the total number of vehicles participating in the platoon; and approve the external vehicle to join the platoon based on whether the total number of vehicles is less than a reference value, and when the total number of vehicles is equal to or greater than the reference value, notify the external vehicle to refuse to join.

[0020] In the determination operation, the leader vehicle may: check the total number of passengers in the vehicles participating in the platoon when an external vehicle joins the platoon; calculate the seat occupancy rate based on the checked total number of passengers and the total number of seats in the vehicles in the platoon and the external vehicles; and approve the joining request of the external vehicle based on whether the seat occupancy rate is lower than a reference value, and notify the external vehicle to refuse to join when the seat occupancy rate is equal to or higher than the reference value.

[0021] When the passengers are persons with reduced mobility including the elderly and infirm, children and pregnant women, the seat occupancy rate is calculated by applying a weight to each person with reduced mobility.

[0022] People with reduced mobility can be identified using ticket payment information.

[0023] In the determination operation, when the joining of an external vehicle is approved, the external vehicle may be arranged at a location with a low passenger density within the platoon according to an instruction of the lead vehicle.

[0024] In the determination operation, the leader vehicle can: check the cargo information of the vehicles in the platoon when an external vehicle joins the platoon; assign a unit value to each piece of cargo in the cargo according to the cargo value and safety level through the checked cargo information; and approve the external vehicle to join the platoon based on whether the final value obtained by adding up all the unit values ​​of the cargo is less than the reference value, and notify the external vehicle to refuse to join when the final value is equal to or greater than the reference value.

[0025] When an external vehicle is approved to join the platoon convoy in the determination operation, the external vehicle may be arranged at a location with a low cargo density or a low risk level within the platoon convoy according to an instruction of the lead vehicle.

[0026] When an accident occurs in a platoon of vehicles, the leading vehicle in the platoon can send the accident information to other vehicles.

[0027] When the lead vehicle has an accident during the platoon, the lead authority is granted to another vehicle that immediately follows the lead vehicle out of the platoon.

[0028] When a vehicle in the middle position of a platoon has an accident during the platoon, the leading authority may be granted to another vehicle that leaves the platoon immediately following the vehicle in the middle position.

[0029] When the rearmost vehicle in the platoon has an accident in the platoon, the leading vehicle may exclude only the rearmost vehicle in the accident from the platoon.

[0030] In another general aspect, a vehicle platooning device includes an information collector configured to enable a lead vehicle in a platooning convoy to receive and collect information from other vehicles in the platooning convoy; a communicator configured to receive, from an external vehicle not participating in the platooning convoy, a signal requesting to join the platooning convoy and information about the external vehicle, send a signal approving or denying joining the platooning convoy, and allow other vehicles to share driving information of the lead vehicle; and a controller configured to use the information from the information collector and the signal from the communicator to determine whether to approve or deny the external vehicle from joining the platooning convoy.

[0031] The apparatus may further include a vehicle arranger configured to arrange the external vehicle in the platoon when the controller approves the external vehicle to be added to the platoon.

[0032] When the external vehicle's joining the platoon is approved or rejected by the controller, the result and reason of the approval or rejection of the joining are notified to the external vehicle through the display unit of the vehicle.

[0033] The information collector of the leading vehicle may be further configured to receive and check information about the total number of vehicles participating in the platoon, information about the arrangement between the vehicles, information about cargo on each vehicle, or passenger information.

[0034] The communicator of the leading vehicle is further configured to receive cargo information, passenger information, and final destination information of external vehicles not participating in the formation.

[0035] Other features and aspects will be apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, in which

[0037] Attachment Figures 1 to 3 The present invention provides a structural diagram, block diagram, and flow chart of the vehicle platooning method and device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] The following specific embodiments are provided to help the reader obtain a comprehensive understanding of the methods, devices and / or systems described herein. However, after understanding the disclosure of the application, various changes, modifications and equivalents of the methods, devices and / or systems described herein will be apparent. For example, the order of operations described herein is merely an example and is not limited to those set forth herein, but can be obviously changed after understanding the disclosure of the application, except for those operations that must occur in a certain order. In addition, for greater clarity and simplicity, the description of features known after understanding the disclosure of the application may be omitted.

[0039] The features described herein may be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the examples described herein. Rather, the examples described herein are merely provided to illustrate some of the many possible ways to implement the methods, devices, and / or systems described herein, which will be apparent upon understanding the disclosure of this application.

[0040] Throughout this specification, when an element, such as a layer, region, or substrate, is described as being “on,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element, it can be directly “on,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” the other element, or one or more other elements may be interposed. In contrast, when an element is described as being “directly on,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element, there can be no other elements intervening therebetween.

[0041] As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any one and any combination of any two or more of the associated listed items.

[0042] Although terms such as "first," "second," and "third" may be used herein to describe various members, components, regions, layers, or portions, these members, components, regions, layers, or portions are not limited by these terms. Rather, these terms are used solely to distinguish one member, component, region, layer, or portion from another member, component, region, layer, or portion. Thus, a first member, component, region, layer, or portion mentioned in the examples described herein could also be referred to as a second member, component, region, layer, or portion without departing from the teachings of the examples.

[0043] For ease of description, spatially relative terms such as "above," "upper," "below," and "lower" may be used herein to describe the relationship of one element to another element as shown in the figures. Such spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, an element described as "above" or "upper" relative to another element will be "below" or "lower" relative to the other element. Thus, the term "above" includes both above and below orientations, depending on the spatial orientation of the device. The device may also be oriented in other ways (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or in other orientations), and the spatially relative terms used herein will be interpreted accordingly.

[0044] The terms used herein are only used to describe various examples and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. The articles "a", "an" and "the" are also intended to include plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms "comprise", "include" and "have" specify the presence of the stated features, numbers, operations, components, elements and / or their combinations, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, operations, components, elements and / or their combinations.

[0045] As will be apparent after understanding the disclosure of the present application, the features of the embodiments described herein can be combined in various ways. In addition, although the embodiments described herein have multiple configurations, other configurations are also possible, which will be apparent after understanding the disclosure of the present application.

[0046] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical and scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure belongs. Terms defined in commonly used dictionaries may be interpreted as having the same meaning as in the context of the relevant technical field, and should not be interpreted as having an ideal or excessive meaning unless explicitly defined in the present disclosure.

[0047] The control unit (controller) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure can be implemented by a non-volatile memory (not shown) or a processor (not shown), the non-volatile memory being configured to store data related to an algorithm or software instructions for reproducing the algorithm, the algorithm being configured to control the operation of various vehicle components, and the processor being configured to perform the operations described below by using the data stored in the corresponding memory. Here, the memory and the processor can be implemented as separate chips. Alternatively, the memory and the processor can be implemented as an integrated single chip. The processor can be in the form of one or more processors.

[0048] The following is combined with Figures 1 to 3 A method and apparatus for vehicle platooning according to a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure is described.

[0049] In the present disclosure, when an external vehicle that is not in a formation state (a vehicle not participating in the formation) requests to join the formation fleet, it can be determined whether the external vehicle joins the formation fleet by using the vehicle information of the participating formation fleet (vehicle quantity information, vehicle layout information, cargo information, passenger information, etc.) and the external vehicle information (cargo information, passenger information, etc.). When joining the formation fleet, the external vehicle can be determined to be arranged in a position where damage can be minimized even in the event of an accident.

[0050] The vehicle platooning method according to the present disclosure may include an information collection operation, in which a leading vehicle 10 in a platoon receives information from vehicles 20 (following vehicles) participating in the platoon and checks the platoon vehicles; and a determination operation, in which, when a request to join the platoon fleet is received from an external vehicle 30 not participating in the platoon, the leading vehicle 10 receives information about the external vehicle 30 and determines whether to approve joining the platoon fleet, wherein the result and reason of the determination are notified to the external vehicle 30.

[0051] That is, when a plurality of vehicles form a platoon toward a specific destination (operation S1), the leading vehicle 10 in the platoon receives information from the vehicles 20 participating in the platoon (following vehicles) and checks the platoon vehicles. The leading vehicle 10 may receive and check information about the total number of vehicles participating in the platoon, information about the arrangement between the vehicles, information about the cargo on each vehicle, or information about passengers (operation S2).

[0052] The information collector 40 of the leading vehicle 10 in the formation can receive and collect information from the participating vehicles 20. The information collector 40 can be configured in the same manner in all leading vehicles 10, participating vehicles 20 (following vehicles) and external vehicles 30 in the formation.

[0053] Furthermore, each of the lead vehicle 10 and the participating vehicles 20 may include a communication unit or communicator 50 so that the lead vehicle 10 in the formation can receive information from the participating vehicles 20 .

[0054] Furthermore, the external vehicle 30 may likewise include a communication unit 50 capable of sending or receiving signals.

[0055] During the platoon, the leading vehicle 10 may receive a signal from an external vehicle 30 not participating in the platoon through the communication unit 50 requesting to join the platoon (operation S3 ).

[0056] When the lead vehicle 10 receives a signal requesting to join the platoon from the outside vehicle 30 , the lead vehicle 10 may receive information about the outside vehicle 30 to determine whether to approve joining the platoon (operation S4 ).

[0057] The information about the external vehicle 30 received by the lead vehicle 10 may include cargo information, passenger information, and final destination information of the external vehicle 30 .

[0058] When the leading vehicle 10 receives a signal requesting to join the platoon from the outside vehicle 30 , the controller 60 of the leading vehicle 10 may check the total number of vehicles participating in the platoon assuming that the outside vehicle 30 joins the current platoon (operation S5 ).

[0059] The controller 60 may be applied identically to all leading vehicles 10 , participating vehicles 20 , and external vehicles 30 .

[0060] Only when the total number of platoon vehicles checked in operation S5 is less than a reference value, the lead vehicle 10 may approve the external vehicle 30 to join the platoon fleet (operation S6), and when the total number of platoon vehicles is equal to or greater than the reference value, the external vehicle 30 may be notified to refuse to join (operation S7).

[0061] When the total number of platoon vehicles is large, the risk of accidents with surrounding vehicles may increase. Therefore, for safe driving, the total number of platoon vehicles can be limited to a certain number.

[0062] When the controller 60 approves or rejects the external vehicle 30 from joining the platoon, the result and reason of the approval or rejection of the external vehicle 30 may be notified through the display unit 70 of the vehicle, thereby facilitating safe driving.

[0063] The display unit 70 may be identically applied to all the leader vehicle 10 , the vehicles 20 participating in the formation, and the external vehicles 30 , and may include all displays for visual display, sound devices for auditory display, and the like.

[0064] In addition, when the leading vehicle 10 receives a signal requesting to join the platoon from the external vehicle 30, the controller 60 of the leading vehicle 10 can check the total number of passengers in the vehicles participating in the platoon assuming that the external vehicle 30 joins the current platoon (operation S8), and can calculate the seat occupancy rate by comparing the checked total number of passengers with the total number of seats of the vehicles joining the platoon.

[0065] The lead vehicle 10 may approve the external vehicle 30 to join the platoon only when the calculated seat occupancy rate is less than the reference value (operation S6), and notify the external vehicle 30 of refusal to join when the seat occupancy rate is equal to or higher than the reference value (operation S7).

[0066] The total number of vehicle passengers can be checked using ticket payment information, and the seat occupancy rate can be checked using seat sensors.

[0067] When the total number of passengers in a platoon is large, the level of danger in the event of an accident may be high, and there may be a risk of a larger-scale disaster. Therefore, for safety reasons, the total number of passengers in a platoon may be limited to a certain number.

[0068] When the passengers in the vehicles participating in the formation are elderly, infirm, children, pregnant women and other people with limited mobility, a weight can be applied to each person with limited mobility to calculate the seat occupancy rate.

[0069] That is, in the event of an accident, people with limited mobility are at a higher risk than normal people. Therefore, a weight can be applied to the safety of passengers. A normal person can be counted as 1 (this number represents one passenger), while a person with limited mobility can be counted as a number greater than 1, thereby further improving the vehicle seat guarantee rate.

[0070] Ticket payment information can be used to identify people with limited mobility.

[0071] When the external vehicle 30 is approved to join the platoon in operations S6 to S8, the external vehicle 30 can be arranged in the platoon by the instruction of the leading vehicle 10 (operation S9). At this time, the external vehicle 30 can be arranged at the position with the lowest passenger density in the platoon.

[0072] Arranging the external vehicle 30 at the position with the lowest passenger density is designed for the safety of passengers in the event of an accident.

[0073] The arrangement of the external vehicles 30 can be performed under the control of the controller 60 by a signal from the vehicle arrangement unit (vehicle arranger) 80 of the lead vehicle 10, and the vehicle arrangement unit 80 can be applied identically to all the lead vehicles 10, vehicles 20 participating in the formation, and external vehicles 30.

[0074] In addition, when the leading vehicle 10 receives a signal requesting to join the platoon from the external vehicle 30, the controller 60 of the leading vehicle 10 can check the cargo information in the vehicles participating in the platoon when the external vehicle 30 joins the current platoon, and can assign a unit value to each cargo according to the cargo value and security level based on the checked cargo information, and can obtain a final value by adding all the unit values ​​of each cargo (operation S10).

[0075] The leader vehicle 10 may approve the external vehicle 30 to join the platoon only when the final value obtained by summing all unit values ​​of each cargo is less than the reference value (operation S6), and may notify the external vehicle 30 of refusal to join when the final value is equal to or greater than the reference value (operation S7).

[0076] Assuming an external vehicle 30 joins the current platoon, the leader vehicle 10 can assign unit values ​​to all cargo in the participating vehicles based on cargo value and safety level. After obtaining a final value by adding up all the unit values ​​assigned to all cargo, the leader vehicle 10 can approve the external vehicle 30 to join the platoon only if the final value is less than a reference value, and can notify the external vehicle 30 to refuse to join if the final value is equal to or greater than the reference value.

[0077] When the amount of cargo loaded on a vehicle exceeds the reference value, the risk of a large-scale disaster may increase in the event of an accident. Therefore, for safety reasons, the total quantity and total weight of the cargo may be limited to a certain amount.

[0078] When the external vehicle 30 is approved to join the platoon in operations S6 to S10, the external vehicle 30 can be arranged in the platoon by the instruction of the leading vehicle 10 (operation S9). At this time, the external vehicle 30 can be arranged in a position with low cargo density or low risk in the platoon.

[0079] The outer vehicle 30 is arranged at a location with low cargo density or low risk level for the safety of passengers in the event of an accident.

[0080] According to the present disclosure, when an accident occurs in a platoon of vehicles, the leading vehicle 10 in the platoon can transmit the accident information to other vehicles in the platoon that are not involved in the accident, thereby achieving safe driving. The transmission of the accident information can be performed by a communication unit 50 provided in the vehicle.

[0081] Furthermore, in the present disclosure, when the lead vehicle 10 is involved in an accident during the platoon, the lead authority may be granted to the vehicle that immediately followed the lead vehicle 10 and left the platoon and was involved in the accident.

[0082] The leader vehicle 10 that has an accident may no longer be the leader vehicle and may leave the platoon. New leader authority may be granted to the vehicle following the leader vehicle 10 that is in the accident, thereby allowing the remaining vehicles that are not involved in the accident to continue to execute the platoon.

[0083] Furthermore, in the present disclosure, when a vehicle in the middle position in a platoon has an accident during the platoon, the leading authority may be granted to a vehicle that immediately follows the vehicle out of the platoon and is involved in the accident.

[0084] When a vehicle in the middle of a platoon is involved in an accident during platooning, the lead vehicle 10 may be unable to lead the vehicles behind the accident vehicle and may leave the platoon. New lead authority may be granted to the vehicle immediately behind the accident vehicle, allowing the remaining vehicles not involved in the accident to continue platooning.

[0085] Furthermore, in the present disclosure, when the rearmost vehicle in the platoon has an accident during the platoon, the leader vehicle 10 may exclude only the rearmost vehicle in the accident from the platoon, so that the remaining vehicles not involved in the accident may continue the platoon.

[0086] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, logic may be controlled such that operation S6 is performed only when all conditions of operations S5, S8, and S10 are satisfied, or logic may be controlled such that operation S6 is performed even when conditions of operations S5, S8, and S10 are respectively satisfied.

[0087] The vehicle platooning device according to the present disclosure may include: an information collector 40, configured to enable the leading vehicle 10 in the formation to receive and collect information from vehicles 20 participating in the formation; a communication unit 50, configured to receive a signal requesting to join the platoon fleet and information about the external vehicle from an external vehicle 30 not participating in the formation, transmit a signal approving or rejecting joining the platoon fleet, and allow other vehicles 20 participating in the formation to share driving information of the leading vehicle 10; a controller 60, configured to use the information from the information collector 40 and the signal from the communication unit 50 to determine whether to approve or reject the external vehicle 30 from joining the platoon fleet; and a vehicle arrangement unit 80, configured to arrange the external vehicle 30 in the platoon fleet when the controller 60 approves the external vehicle 30 from joining the platoon fleet.

[0088] Furthermore, when the joining of the external vehicle 30 into the platoon is approved or rejected by the controller 60 , the result and reason of the approval or rejection of the joining may be notified to the external vehicle 30 through the display unit 70 of the vehicle.

[0089] The information collector 40 , the communication unit 50 , the controller 60 , the display unit 70 , and the vehicle arrangement unit 80 may be implemented in a control unit of each vehicle and may be configured to perform relevant functions as needed so that the present disclosure can be implemented.

[0090] As described above, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an advantage is that when an external vehicle 30 that does not participate in the formation in a formation situation requests to join the formation convoy, whether the external vehicle 30 joins the formation convoy can be determined by using the vehicle information of the participating formation convoy (vehicle quantity information, vehicle arrangement information, cargo information, passenger information, etc.) and the information of the external vehicle 30 (cargo information, passenger information, etc.), and when joining the formation convoy, it can be determined that the external vehicle 30 is arranged in a position where damage can be minimized even in the event of an accident, thereby ensuring the safety of the formation.

[0091] The method and apparatus for vehicle platooning according to the present disclosure have the advantage that, when an external vehicle that does not participate in the platooning in the case of platooning requests to join the platooning fleet, whether the external vehicle joins the platooning fleet can be determined by using the vehicle information (vehicle quantity information, vehicle arrangement information, cargo information, passenger information, etc.) of the platooning fleet and the information of the external vehicle (cargo information, passenger information, etc.), and when joining the platooning fleet, it can be determined that the external vehicle is arranged in a position where damage can be minimized even in the event of an accident, thereby ensuring the safety of the platoon.

[0092] Figure 1-3The information collector, communication unit, controller, vehicle layout unit, and display unit that perform the operations described in this application are implemented by hardware components that are configured to perform the operations described in this application performed by the hardware components. Examples of hardware components that can be used to perform the operations described in this application, where appropriate, include controllers, sensors, generators, drivers, memories, comparators, arithmetic logic units, adders, subtractors, multipliers, dividers, integrators, and any other electronic components configured to perform the operations described in this application. In other examples, one or more hardware components that perform the operations described in this application are implemented by computing hardware, for example, by one or more processors or computers. A processor or computer can be implemented by one or more processing elements, such as logic gate arrays, controllers and arithmetic logic units, digital signal processors, microcomputers, programmable logic controllers, field programmable gate arrays, programmable logic arrays, microprocessors, or any other device or combination of devices configured to respond to and execute instructions in a defined manner to achieve a desired result. In one example, the processor or computer includes or is connected to one or more memories that store instructions or software executed by the processor or computer. The hardware components implemented by a processor or a computer can execute instructions or software, such as an operating system (OS) and one or more software applications running on the OS, to perform the operations described in this application. The hardware components can also access, manipulate, process, create and store data in response to the execution of instructions or software. For simplicity, the singular term "processor" or "computer" can be used in the description of the examples described in this application, but in other examples, multiple processors or computers can be used, or the processor or computer can include multiple processing elements, or multiple types of processing elements, or both. For example, a single hardware component or two or more hardware components can be implemented by a single processor, or two or more processors, or a processor and a controller. One or more hardware components can be implemented by one or more processors, or a processor and a controller, and one or more other hardware components can be implemented by one or more other processors, or another processor and another controller. One or more processors, or a processor and a controller, can implement a single hardware component, or two or more hardware components.The hardware components may have any one or more of different processing configurations, examples of which include a single processor, independent processors, parallel processors, single-instruction single-data (SISD) multiprocessing, single-instruction multiple-data (SIMD) multiprocessing, multiple-instruction single-data (MISD) multiprocessing, and multiple-instruction multiple-data (MIMD) multiprocessing.

[0093] Figure 1-3 The methods for performing the operations described herein are shown as being performed by computing hardware, for example, by one or more processors or computers, executing instructions or software as described above to perform the operations performed by the methods described herein. For example, a single operation or two or more operations may be performed by a single processor, or two or more processors, or a processor and a controller. One or more operations may be performed by one or more processors, or a processor and a controller, and one or more other operations may be performed by one or more other processors, or another processor and another controller. One or more processors, or a processor and a controller, may perform a single operation, or two or more operations.

[0094] The instructions or software for controlling computing hardware (e.g., one or more processors or computers) to implement the hardware components and perform the above-mentioned methods may be written as a computer program, code snippet, instruction, or any combination thereof, for individually or collectively instructing or configuring the one or more processors or computers to operate as a machine or special-purpose computer to perform the operations performed by the above-mentioned hardware components and methods. In one example, the instructions or software include machine code directly executed by the one or more processors or computers, such as machine code generated by a compiler. In another example, the instructions or software include high-level code executed by the one or more processors or computers using an interpreter. The instructions or software can be written using any programming language based on the block diagrams and flow charts shown in the accompanying drawings and the corresponding descriptions in the specification, which disclose algorithms for performing the operations performed by the hardware components and the methods described above.

[0095] The instructions or software for controlling computing hardware (e.g., one or more processors or computers) to implement the hardware components and perform the above-described methods, and any associated data, data files, and data structures, may be recorded, stored, or fixed in or on one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable storage media include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), flash memory, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD+R, CD-RW, CD+RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM, BD-ROM, BD-R, BD-RLTH, BD-RE, magnetic tape, floppy disk, magneto-optical data storage device, optical data storage device, hard disk, solid-state disk, and any other device configured to store instructions or software and any associated data, data files, and data structures in a non-transitory manner and to transmit the instructions or software and any associated data, data files, and data structures to one or more processors or computers so that the one or more processors or computers can execute the instructions. In one example, the instructions or software and any related data, data files, and data structures are distributed over a network-coupled computer system so that the instructions and software and any related data, data files, and data structures are stored, accessed, and executed by the one or more processors or computers in a distributed fashion.

[0096] Although the present disclosure includes specific examples, it will be apparent after understanding the disclosure of the present application that various changes in form and detail may be made to these examples without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application and its equivalents. The examples described herein are considered to be descriptive only and not for the purpose of limitation. The description of the features or aspects in each example is considered to be applicable to similar features or aspects in other examples. If the described techniques are performed in a different order, and / or if the components in the described systems, architectures, devices, or circuits are combined in different ways, and / or replaced or supplemented by other components or their equivalents, suitable results may be achieved. Therefore, the scope of the present disclosure is not defined by specific embodiments, but by the present application and its equivalents, and all changes within the scope of the present application and its equivalents should be interpreted as being included in the present invention.

Claims

1. A vehicle platooning method, comprising: information gathering operations, wherein a lead vehicle in a platoon receives information from and inspects other vehicles in the platoon; and a determining operation, wherein, upon receiving a request to join the platoon from an external vehicle not participating in the platoon, the leading vehicle receives information about the external vehicle and determines whether to approve the request to join the platoon, wherein the determination result and reason are notified to the external vehicle; Wherein, in the determining operation, the leading vehicle: Assuming that the external vehicle joins the platoon, checking the total number of passengers in the vehicles participating in the platoon; Calculating a seat occupancy rate based on the total number of checked passengers and the total number of seats in the vehicles in the platoon and the external vehicles; and The joining request of the external vehicle is approved according to whether the seat occupancy rate is lower than a reference value, and the external vehicle is notified of rejection of joining when the seat occupancy rate is equal to or higher than the reference value.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein In the information collecting operation, the leading vehicle checks information on the total number of vehicles participating in the platoon, information on arrangement between vehicles, information on cargo carried on each of the vehicles, or information on passengers of the vehicles.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein The information about the external vehicle received by the lead vehicle in the determining operation includes cargo information, passenger information, and final destination information.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein In the determining operation, the leading vehicle: Assuming that the external vehicle joins the platoon, checking the total number of vehicles participating in the platoon; and According to whether the total number of vehicles is less than a reference value, the external vehicle is approved to join the platoon; when the total number of vehicles is equal to or greater than the reference value, the external vehicle is notified to refuse to join.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein When the passenger is a person with reduced mobility including the elderly and infirm, children and pregnant women, the seat occupancy rate is calculated by applying a weight to each person with reduced mobility.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein: The person with reduced mobility is identified using ticket payment information.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein In the determining operation, when the joining of the external vehicle is approved, the external vehicle is arranged at a position with low passenger density within the platoon vehicle group by instruction of the lead vehicle.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein In the determining operation, the leading vehicle: Assuming that the external vehicle joins the platoon, the cargo information of the vehicles in the platoon is checked; Through the checked cargo information, a unit value is assigned to each item in the cargo according to its value and security level; and The external vehicle is approved to join the platoon fleet based on whether the final value obtained by adding up all unit values ​​of each cargo is less than a reference value, and when the final value is equal to or greater than the reference value, the external vehicle is notified to refuse to join.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein When the external vehicle is approved to join the platoon in the determining operation, the external vehicle is arranged at a position with low cargo density or low risk level within the platoon by instruction of the leading vehicle.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein When an accident occurs to vehicles participating in the platoon, the leading vehicle in the platoon sends accident information to other vehicles.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein When the leading vehicle has an accident during the platoon, the leading authority is granted to another vehicle that immediately follows the leading vehicle and leaves the platoon.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein When a vehicle at a middle position in the platoon has an accident during the platoon formation, the leading authority is granted to another vehicle that leaves the platoon following the vehicle at the middle position.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein When the rearmost vehicle in the platoon has an accident during the platoon formation, the leading vehicle excludes only the rearmost vehicle in the accident from the platoon formation.

14. A vehicle platooning device comprising: an information collector configured to enable a leading vehicle in a platoon to receive and collect information from other vehicles in the platoon; a communicator configured to receive a signal requesting to join the platoon and information about the external vehicle from an external vehicle not participating in the platoon, send a signal approving or rejecting joining the platoon, and allow other vehicles to share driving information of the leader vehicle; and a controller configured to use information from the information collector and a signal from the communicator to determine whether to approve or deny the external vehicle from joining the platoon; The controller is further configured to control the lead vehicle: Checking the total number of passengers in the vehicles participating in the convoy; Calculating a seat occupancy rate based on the total number of checked passengers and the total number of seats in the vehicles in the platoon and the external vehicles; and The joining request of the external vehicle is approved according to whether the seat occupancy rate is lower than a reference value, and the external vehicle is notified of rejection of joining when the seat occupancy rate is equal to or higher than the reference value. 15 . The apparatus according to claim 14 , further comprising a vehicle arranger configured to arrange the external vehicle in the platoon fleet when the controller approves the external vehicle to be added to the platoon fleet.

16. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein When the controller approves or rejects the external vehicle's joining the platoon, the external vehicle is notified of the result and reason of approval or rejection of the joining through a display unit of the vehicle.

17. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein The information collector of the leader vehicle is further configured to receive and check information about the total number of vehicles participating in the platoon, information about the arrangement between the vehicles, information about the cargo on each vehicle, or information about passengers.

18. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein The communicator of the leader vehicle is further configured to receive cargo information, passenger information, and final destination information of the external vehicles not participating in the formation.

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