Heavy truck gas-electric horn control method

Abstract

The application discloses a kind of heavy truck vehicle gas-electric horn control method, the main design concept of the application is to upgrade the manual switching of gas-electric horn system on heavy truck vehicle to automatic switching, specifically, in the process of driving, the current driving condition is continuously detected;When it is identified that the current road environment is the first road condition or the current vehicle speed is in the preset low speed threshold range, only activate the electric horn system, so that it is in standby state in response to the trigger of the driver;And when it is identified that the current road environment is the second road condition and the current vehicle speed exceeds the preset high speed threshold, only activate the gas horn system, so that it is in standby state in response to the trigger of the driver.The application enables the electric horn and gas horn on heavy truck vehicle to adaptively switch and sound the whistle according to the actual driving scene demand detected by the machine.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of vehicle control, and more particularly to a method for controlling the pneumatic horn of a heavy-duty truck. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, most heavy-duty trucks on the market are equipped with electric horns and air horns. Electric horns transmit sound to a shorter distance and produce a higher-pitched sound, while air horns transmit sound over a longer distance and produce a lower-pitched sound. When trucks are traveling on city roads or at low speeds, drivers usually choose to use the electric horn; when trucks are traveling at high speeds, drivers typically use the air horn.

[0003] However, most heavy-duty trucks on the market control the horn to sound and turn off using a horn switch. Under different driving conditions, the driver needs to use a self-locking horn switch to select between an electric horn and an air horn. Automatic switching between electric and air horns is not possible. In particular, when the horn switch becomes mechanically stuck, the horn will sound continuously. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of the above, the present invention aims to provide a method for controlling the electric horn of a heavy-duty truck, so as to solve the problem that the electric horn and the air horn cannot be automatically switched based on driving needs.

[0005] The technical solution adopted in this invention is as follows:

[0006] This invention provides a method for controlling the pneumatic horn of a heavy-duty truck, including:

[0007] During driving, the current driving conditions are continuously monitored;

[0008] When the current road environment is identified as the first road condition or the current vehicle speed is within the preset low speed threshold range, only the electric horn system is activated, putting it into a standby state in response to driver triggering.

[0009] When the current road environment is identified as the second road condition and the current vehicle speed exceeds the preset high speed threshold, only the air horn system is activated, putting it into a standby state in response to driver triggering.

[0010] In at least one possible implementation, detecting the current driving condition further includes: determining driving safety factors.

[0011] In at least one of the possible implementations, when the driving safety factors exceed the established safety standards, the air horn system is forcibly changed and activated while only the electric horn system is activated.

[0012] In at least one of the possible implementations, when the driving safety factor exceeds a predetermined safety standard, the horn switching is forcibly suspended while only the air horn system is activated, and the air horn system remains activated until the driving safety factor meets the safety standard.

[0013] In at least one of the possible implementations, when the driving safety factors exceed the predetermined safety standards, the standby state is canceled and the air horn is forced to sound automatically, or the electric horn and the air horn are forced to sound together automatically.

[0014] In at least one possible implementation, the control method further includes: after the driver manually triggers the sound of any horn system, monitoring the volume of the sound output by the vehicle's horn from the outside, and adaptively amplifying or suppressing the horn output volume in conjunction with the current driving conditions.

[0015] In at least one possible implementation, the control method further includes: after the driver manually triggers any horn system to sound, monitoring the duration of the sound output by the vehicle's horn; if the duration exceeds a predetermined time threshold, forcibly stopping the sound output of the current horn and outputting a prompt message to the driver.

[0016] In at least one of the possible implementations, after the prompt message is output, the manual trigger mode of the speaker system is temporarily disabled, and the system is switched to the automatic trigger mode.

[0017] In at least one possible implementation, the control method further includes: activating the electric horn system and using the electric horn system as the initial horn after the vehicle is powered back on.

[0018] In at least one possible implementation, the control method further includes: in a heavy-duty truck model equipped with an autonomous driving mode, when it is determined that the autonomous driving mode has been entered, taking over and controlling the automatic output of the air horn and / or electric horn according to a preset autonomous driving strategy, until the vehicle exits the autonomous driving mode or makes a coordinated decision based on the preset priority of manual triggering and automatic triggering.

[0019] Compared with existing technologies, the main design concept of this invention lies in upgrading the manual switching of the electric and pneumatic horn systems on heavy-duty trucks to automatic switching. Specifically, during driving, the current driving conditions are continuously monitored. When the current road environment is identified as the first road condition or the current vehicle speed is within a preset low-speed threshold range, only the electric horn system is activated, placing it in a standby state in response to driver triggering. Conversely, when the current road environment is identified as the second road condition and the current vehicle speed exceeds a preset high-speed threshold, only the air horn system is activated, placing it in a standby state in response to driver triggering. This invention enables the electric and air horns on heavy-duty trucks to adaptively and intelligently switch and sound their horns according to the actual driving scenario requirements detected by the machine. Attached Figure Description

[0020] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0021] Figure 1 This is a flowchart illustrating the method for controlling the pneumatic horn of a heavy-duty truck according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0022] Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below. Examples of these embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

[0023] This invention proposes an embodiment of a method for controlling the pneumatic horn of a heavy-duty truck, specifically, as follows: Figure 1 As shown, it includes:

[0024] Step S1: During driving, continuously monitor the current driving conditions;

[0025] Step S2: When the current road environment is identified as the first road condition (such as roads with relatively dense traffic in towns and cities) or the current vehicle speed is within the preset low speed threshold range (at this time, the road condition is not limited, only the vehicle speed itself is considered), only the electric horn system is activated, and it is put into standby state in response to manual triggering by the driver.

[0026] Step S3: When the current road environment is identified as the second road condition (such as a highway) and the current vehicle speed exceeds the preset high speed threshold (that is, the road type and vehicle speed need to be considered simultaneously), only the air horn system is activated, so that it is in standby mode in response to manual triggering by the driver.

[0027] Building upon this, it can be further considered that detecting the current driving condition also includes assessing driving safety factors. In practice, relatively mature autonomous driving and driver assistance technologies can be utilized to determine whether the driving process encounters emergency or dangerous factors that affect driving safety through perception and established safety strategies.

[0028] When the driving safety factors exceed the established safety standards, the following three measures can be taken:

[0029] (1) Under the condition that only the electric horn system is activated, the air horn system is forcibly changed and activated;

[0030] (2) When only the air horn system is activated, the horn switching is forcibly suspended, and the air horn system is kept in the activated state until the driving safety factors meet the safety standards.

[0031] (3) Cancel standby mode and force automatic triggering of the air horn to sound, or force automatic triggering of both the electric horn and the air horn to sound.

[0032] In addition, after the driver manually triggers any horn system, the system monitors the volume of external sound output from the vehicle's horn (which can be picked up by microphones / arrays located on the truck body) and, in conjunction with the current driving conditions, amplifies or suppresses the horn's output volume. This is because real-world driving scenarios involve complex traffic environments. For example, in urban areas, if there is congestion or waiting at traffic lights, or if information from the vehicle's vision detection system / vehicle networking platform detects that horn use is restricted in certain urban areas (such as hospitals, schools, and examination sites), even the electric horn of a heavy truck can have a significant impact, thus its output volume can be suppressed. Similarly, on highways, due to higher speeds and relatively larger following distances, when the driver determines that honking is necessary to alert the vehicle in front or a vehicle changing lanes, the system can also appropriately amplify the horn's output volume by combining speed detection and distance detection methods to attract attention.

[0033] Based on this concept, in other preferred embodiments of the present invention, to avoid continuous honking due to mechanical failure (e.g., sticking) of the trigger switch, the present invention proposes that after the driver manually triggers any horn system, the duration of the sound output by the vehicle's horn is monitored. If it exceeds a predetermined time threshold (e.g., 15 seconds, 20 seconds, etc.), the horn sound output is forcibly stopped and a prompt message is output to the driver. Furthermore, under the aforementioned concept, the manual triggering mode of the horn system is temporarily disabled and switched to an automatic horn triggering mode (e.g., based on intelligent driving strategies, using perception information, automatically triggering the electric horn and / or air horn to output sound in predetermined scenarios requiring horn use).

[0034] Finally, three points can be added. First, after the vehicle is powered on again, the electric horn system is activated and used as the initial horn. This step is to avoid the air horn system not being deactivated after the last use, which would cause the vehicle to default to the air horn upon restarting, thus causing inconvenience to the user and other vehicles and pedestrians. Second, as mentioned above, different horn systems are switched according to the current driving conditions. The inactive horns are in a pending state rather than being disabled. Therefore, in more complex driving conditions, any horn type can be activated randomly, or a message can be sent to the driver to decide which type of horn to activate. Thirdly, in heavy-duty truck models equipped with an autonomous driving mode, when it is determined that the autonomous driving mode has been entered, the preset autonomous driving strategy takes over and controls the automatic output of the air horn and / or electric horn until the vehicle exits the autonomous driving mode or coordinates and makes decisions based on the preset priority of manual triggering and automatic triggering. For example, in the autonomous driving stage, automatic triggering of switching the horn and sounding the horn is given the highest priority, but the driver's manual triggering of the horn mode is not canceled. If the driver manually triggers or switches the horn during autonomous driving, the autonomous driving strategy decides whether to respond to the current driver's manual triggering control according to the established rules (such as safety standards).

[0035] In summary, the main design concept of this invention lies in upgrading the manual switching of the electric and pneumatic horn systems on heavy-duty trucks to automatic switching. Specifically, during driving, the current driving conditions are continuously monitored. When the current road environment is identified as the first road condition or the current vehicle speed is within a preset low-speed threshold range, only the electric horn system is activated, placing it in a standby state responding to driver triggers. Conversely, when the current road environment is identified as the second road condition and the current vehicle speed exceeds a preset high-speed threshold, only the air horn system is activated, placing it in a standby state responding to driver triggers. This invention enables the electric and air horns on heavy-duty trucks to adaptively and intelligently switch and sound their horns according to the actual driving scenario requirements detected by the machine.

[0036] In this embodiment of the invention, "at least one" refers to one or more, and "more than one" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent the existence of A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone. A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" and similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of singular or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, and c can represent: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a and b and c, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0037] The above description of the structure, features, and effects of the present invention is based on the embodiments shown in the figures. However, the above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention. It should be noted that the technical features involved in the above embodiments and their preferred methods can be reasonably combined and matched by those skilled in the art to form a variety of equivalent solutions without departing from or changing the design concept and technical effects of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the scope of implementation shown in the figures. Any changes made in accordance with the concept of the present invention, or modifications to equivalent embodiments, that do not exceed the spirit covered by the specification and figures, should be within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A heavy truck vehicle air electric horn control method, characterized in that, include: During driving, the current driving conditions are continuously monitored; When the current road environment is identified as the first road condition or the current vehicle speed is within the preset low speed threshold range, only the electric horn system is activated, putting it into a standby state in response to driver triggering. When the current road environment is identified as the second road condition and the current vehicle speed exceeds the preset high speed threshold, only the air horn system is activated, putting it into a standby state in response to driver triggering. The control method further includes: after the driver manually triggers any horn system to sound, monitoring the duration of the sound output by the vehicle's horn; if it exceeds a predetermined time threshold, forcibly stopping the sound output of the current horn and outputting a prompt message to the driver; and after outputting the prompt message, temporarily disabling the manual triggering mode of the horn system and switching to the automatic triggering mode of the horn, in order to solve the problem of mechanical sticking of the horn switch.

2. The heavy truck electro pneumatic horn control method of claim 1, wherein, The detection of the current driving condition also includes: determining driving safety factors.

3. The heavy truck electro pneumatic horn control method of claim 2, wherein, When the driving safety factors exceed the established safety standards, the air horn system will be forcibly changed and activated when only the electric horn system is activated.

4. The heavy truck electro pneumatic horn control method of claim 2, wherein, When the driving safety factors exceed the predetermined safety standards, the horn switching is forcibly suspended when only the air horn system is activated, and the air horn system remains activated until the driving safety factors meet the safety standards.

5. The heavy truck electro pneumatic horn control method of claim 2, wherein, When the driving safety factors exceed the established safety standards, the standby state is canceled, and the air horn is automatically triggered, or the electric horn and air horn are triggered to sound simultaneously.

6. The heavy duty truck air electric horn control method of claim 1, wherein, The control method further includes: after the driver manually triggers the sound of any horn system, monitoring the volume of the sound output by the vehicle's horn from the outside, and adaptively amplifying or suppressing the horn output volume in combination with the current driving conditions.

7. The control method of claim any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein, The control method further includes: activating the electric horn system and using the electric horn system as the initial horn after the vehicle is powered back on.

8. The control method of claim 1 to 6, wherein, The control method further includes: in a heavy-duty truck model equipped with an automatic driving mode, when it is determined that the automatic driving mode has been entered, a preset automatic driving strategy is used to take over and control the automatic output of the air horn and / or electric horn until the vehicle exits the automatic driving mode or a coordinated decision is made based on the preset priority of manual triggering and automatic triggering.

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