A control system and vehicle

Abstract

The application discloses a control system and a vehicle. In the control system: an intelligent driving control module is used for determining an intelligent driving control instruction and sending the intelligent driving control instruction to a first regional control unit; an intelligent cabin control module is used for sending an intelligent cabin control instruction to a second regional control unit; a central computing module is used for communicating with the intelligent driving control module and the intelligent cabin control module by using a first preset communication mode and communicating with a third regional control unit by using a second preset communication mode; and a regional control module is used for driving an actuator to control a target vehicle according to a control instruction and vehicle operation information sent by the central computing module. The technical scheme of the embodiment of the application realizes an L3 or above advanced automatic driving function by the central computing module communicating with the intelligent driving control module and the intelligent cabin control module by using a larger bandwidth, and improves the control precision of intelligent cabin software.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of vehicle control, and more particularly to a control system and a vehicle. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid iteration of intelligent connected vehicle technology, the development of intelligent driving vehicles, including autonomous driving vehicles, is of great significance to promoting industrial transformation and upgrading.

[0003] Currently, most vehicles employ a traditional distributed electronic and electrical architecture, with numerous ECUs (Electronic Control Units) scattered across different locations within the vehicle. These ECUs typically communicate with each other via a CAN bus. However, this traditional CAN communication method cannot meet the bandwidth and speed requirements of intelligent driving vehicles, such as the transmission requirements for signals related to Level 3 and higher advanced autonomous driving functions, thus compromising the precision of vehicle control. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This invention provides a control system and a vehicle to solve the problem of poor vehicle control accuracy.

[0005] This invention provides a control system applied in a vehicle. The control system includes an intelligent driving control module, an intelligent cockpit control module, a central computing module, and a regional control module. The regional control module includes multiple regional control units, wherein:

[0006] The intelligent driving control module is used to determine intelligent driving control commands based on the collected preset intelligent driving sensor information, and to send the intelligent driving control commands to the first area control unit to achieve autonomous driving functions at level L3 or above.

[0007] The intelligent cockpit control module is used to send intelligent cockpit control commands to the second area control unit according to the operating information of the preset intelligent cockpit software, so as to control the preset intelligent cockpit software.

[0008] The central computing module is used to communicate with the intelligent driving control module and the intelligent cockpit control module using a first preset communication method, and to communicate with the third area control unit using a second preset communication method, wherein the bandwidth corresponding to the first preset communication method is greater than the bandwidth corresponding to the second preset communication method.

[0009] The area control module is used to drive the actuator to control the target vehicle according to the control instructions and the vehicle operation information sent by the central computing module, wherein the control instructions include the intelligent driving control instructions and the intelligent cockpit control instructions.

[0010] Furthermore, both the first preset communication method and the second preset communication method include at least two different communication methods. The first preset communication method includes at least Ethernet communication and CAN FD communication, wherein the CAN FD communication method is used for communication redundancy backup.

[0011] Furthermore, the physical location of the area control unit in the target vehicle, the physical location of the sensors in the target vehicle, and the physical location of the actuator satisfy a preset proximity condition.

[0012] Furthermore, the preset proximity conditions include: for target area control units, target sensors, and target actuators corresponding to the same target software, the distance between the physical location of the target area control unit where the target software is deployed and the physical location of the target sensor is less than a first preset threshold, and the distance between the physical location of the target area control unit and the physical location of the target actuator is less than a second preset threshold. The target software is used to implement the target function, the target sensor includes a sensor that outputs the sensing data required by the target software to the target area control unit, and the target actuator includes an actuator that receives drive information from the target area control unit.

[0013] Furthermore, the control system also includes an in-vehicle T-BOX control module, wherein: the in-vehicle T-BOX control module is used to interact with the central computing module, the intelligent driving control module, the intelligent cockpit control module, and the area control module via Ethernet communication, and to upgrade and update the control system based on the information interaction and communication with the cloud server, wherein the communication with the cloud server is based on fifth-generation mobile communication technology.

[0014] Furthermore, the central computing module includes multiple different types of network interfaces to enable communication with the vehicle-mounted T-BOX control module, the intelligent driving control module, the intelligent cockpit control module, and the area control module.

[0015] Furthermore, the chips corresponding to the central computing module, the intelligent driving control module, and the intelligent cockpit control module include system-on-a-chip (SoC), and the chips corresponding to the regional control unit include microcontroller chips.

[0016] Furthermore, the preset intelligent driving sensors include at least a camera and a radar sensor, and the preset intelligent cockpit software includes audio-visual entertainment software and instrument panel display software.

[0017] The present invention provides a vehicle that includes the control system described in the first aspect above.

[0018] The control system provided by this invention includes an intelligent driving control module, an intelligent cockpit control module, a central computing module, and a regional control module. The regional control module includes multiple regional control units. The intelligent driving control module determines intelligent driving control commands based on collected preset intelligent driving sensor information and sends these commands to a first regional control unit to achieve Level 3 or higher autonomous driving functionality. The intelligent cockpit control module sends intelligent cockpit control commands to a second regional control unit based on preset intelligent cockpit software operation information to control the preset intelligent cockpit software. The central computing module communicates with the intelligent driving control module and the intelligent cockpit control module using a first preset communication method and with a third regional control unit using a second preset communication method, wherein the bandwidth corresponding to the first preset communication method is greater than the bandwidth corresponding to the second preset communication method. The regional control module drives actuators to control a target vehicle based on the control commands and vehicle operation information sent by the central computing module, wherein the control commands include the intelligent driving control commands and the intelligent cockpit control commands. By adopting the above technical solution, the central computing module communicates with the intelligent driving control module and the intelligent cockpit control module through a communication method with a larger bandwidth. This not only meets the transmission requirements of relevant signals for L3 and above advanced autonomous driving functions, but also improves the accuracy and speed of controlling the intelligent cockpit software, thereby improving the control precision of the whole vehicle.

[0019] It should be understood that the description in this section is not intended to identify key or essential features of the invention, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the invention. Other features of the invention will become readily apparent from the following description. Attached Figure Description

[0020] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0021] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a control system provided in Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the electrical architecture of a control system according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0023] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the present invention, the technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort should fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0024] It should be noted that the terms "first," "second," etc., in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this invention are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such data can be interchanged where appropriate so that embodiments of the invention described herein can be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein. In the description of this invention, unless otherwise stated, "a plurality of" means 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: A alone, A and B simultaneously, and B alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects are in an "or" relationship. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion; for example, a process, method, system, product, or device that includes a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units explicitly listed, but may include other steps or units not explicitly listed or inherent to such processes, methods, products, or devices.

[0025] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this invention.

[0026] Unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," "linking," and "fixing" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to fixed connections or detachable connections; mechanical connections or electrical connections; direct connections or indirect connections through an intermediate medium; and connections within two components or interactions between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of these terms in this invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0027] Example 1

[0028] Figure 1The present invention provides a schematic diagram of the structure of a control system according to Embodiment 1. This embodiment is applicable to the control of vehicle operation. The control system can be configured in a vehicle, which can be composed of two or more physical entities.

[0029] like Figure 1 As shown, the control system provided in Embodiment 1 of the present invention specifically includes an intelligent driving control module 101, an intelligent cockpit control module 102, a central computing module 103, and a regional control module 104. The regional control module 104 includes multiple regional control units, wherein:

[0030] The intelligent driving control module 101 is used to determine intelligent driving control commands based on the collected preset intelligent driving sensor information, and to send the intelligent driving control commands to the first area control unit to achieve autonomous driving functions at level L3 or above.

[0031] The intelligent cockpit control module 102 is used to send intelligent cockpit control commands to the second area control unit according to the operating information of the preset intelligent cockpit software, so as to control the preset intelligent cockpit software.

[0032] The central computing module 103 is used to communicate with the intelligent driving control module 101 and the intelligent cockpit control module 102 respectively using a first preset communication method, and to communicate with the third area control unit using a second preset communication method, wherein the bandwidth corresponding to the first preset communication method is greater than the bandwidth corresponding to the second preset communication method.

[0033] The area control module 104 is used to drive the actuator to control the target vehicle according to the control instructions and the vehicle operation information sent by the central computing module, wherein the control instructions include the intelligent driving control instructions and the intelligent cockpit control instructions.

[0034] Specifically, the control system described above includes at least an intelligent driving control module, an intelligent cockpit control module, a central computing module, and a regional control module. The intelligent driving control module can be understood as an intelligent driving controller, the intelligent cockpit control module as an intelligent cockpit controller, the central computing module as a central computing platform, and the regional control units within the regional control module as regional controllers. All of these controllers and the central computing platform possess gateway protocol conversion capabilities. The target vehicle can be understood as a vehicle equipped with the aforementioned control system.

[0035] Specifically, the intelligent driving control module can receive preset intelligent driving sensor information, namely information collected by sensors required for intelligent driving such as cameras and radar, and process the preset intelligent driving sensor information accordingly. Based on the processing results, it can determine the (intelligent) driving control command for the target vehicle, such as an autonomous driving command. After sending the driving control command to the (first) area control unit, the actuators under the area control unit can realize Level 3 or higher autonomous driving functions.

[0036] Specifically, the intelligent cockpit control module can receive operating information from preset intelligent cockpit software, such as in-vehicle entertainment software, process this information accordingly, and determine intelligent cockpit control commands based on the processing results, such as turning on the in-vehicle smart speaker. After sending the intelligent cockpit control command to the (second) area control unit, the preset intelligent cockpit software can be controlled through the actuators under that area control unit. The operating information includes the software's own operating logic information and the operating logic information triggered when occupants use the software.

[0037] Specifically, the central computing module can serve as the hub of the network center within the target vehicle. It may include a secure MCU (Microcontroller Unit) island, which can communicate with the intelligent driving control module 101 and the intelligent cockpit control module 102 via a first preset communication method, and with the (third) regional control unit via a second preset communication method, thus enabling secure and reliable communication with different types of controllers. The first and second preset communication methods can be the same or different. The third regional control unit and the first and second regional control units can be the same control unit, but they can be different.

[0038] Specifically, the area control unit can be understood as the lower-level domain controller of the target vehicle. It can directly drive sensors to collect data and can also directly drive actuators to coordinate the driving, braking, steering, and suspension of the target vehicle. The intelligent driving control module, intelligent cockpit control module, central computing module, and area control unit can be networked using ring or star topologies, allowing the target vehicle to benefit from the advantages of both network connection methods.

[0039] In the control system provided in Embodiment 1 of the present invention, the central computing module communicates with the intelligent driving control module and the intelligent cockpit control module through a communication method with a large bandwidth. This not only meets the transmission requirements of relevant signals for L3 and above advanced autonomous driving functions, but also improves the accuracy and speed of controlling the intelligent cockpit software, thereby improving the control precision of the whole vehicle.

[0040] Example 2

[0041] The control system in this embodiment is based on the first embodiment and further includes:

[0042] Both the first preset communication method and the second preset communication method include at least two different communication methods. The first preset communication method includes at least Ethernet communication method and CAN FD communication method, wherein the CAN FD communication method is used for communication redundancy backup.

[0043] Specifically, Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the electrical architecture of a control system. (For example...) Figure 2 As shown, solid lines represent communication lines corresponding to Ethernet communication, dashed lines represent communication lines corresponding to CAN FD (CAN with Flexible Data-Rate) communication, switch represents the controller's switch, intelligent driving controller 201 is equivalent to intelligent driving control module, central computing platform 202 is equivalent to central computing module, intelligent cockpit controller 203 is equivalent to intelligent cockpit control module, and area controller is equivalent to area control unit. Figure 2 As shown, the intelligent driving controller 201, central computing platform 202, intelligent cockpit controller 203, area controller 11, area controller 12, and area controller 13 can communicate simultaneously via Ethernet and CAN FD communication. CAN FD communication can be used for communication redundancy backup. Using different communication methods can improve communication fault tolerance while ensuring communication stability. For example, Figure 2 As shown, the intelligent driving controller 201, the central computing platform 202, and the intelligent cockpit controller 203 can communicate with each other using a bandwidth of 1000base-T1 gigabit. The central computing platform 202 can communicate with the area controllers 11, 12, and 13 using a bandwidth of 100base-T1 gigabit.

[0044] The physical location of the area control unit in the target vehicle, the physical location of the sensors in the target vehicle, and the physical location of the actuator meet the preset proximity conditions.

[0045] The preset proximity conditions include: for target area control units, target sensors, and target actuators corresponding to the same target software, the distance between the physical location of the target area control unit where the target software is deployed and the physical location of the target sensor is less than a first preset threshold, and the distance between the physical location of the target area control unit and the physical location of the target actuator is less than a second preset threshold. The target software is used to implement the target function, the target sensor includes a sensor that outputs the sensing data required by the target software to the target area control unit, and the target actuator includes an actuator that receives drive information from the target area control unit.

[0046] Specifically, modules can be deployed in physical locations such as front, center, rear, left, and right on the target vehicle. The number of area control units can be no less than three, and the actual number can be determined based on the number of sensors and actuators in each physical area of ​​the target vehicle. Unlike area control units such as chassis domain control units that are arranged based on function, the area control units in this control system can be deployed according to the proximity principle, based on the physical location of the sensors and actuators involved in the (target) software. Specifically, the distance between the area control unit and the physical location of the target sensors is less than a first preset threshold, and the distance between the area control unit and the physical location of the target actuators is less than a second preset threshold. Alternatively, when the location of the area control unit is already determined, the target software can still be deployed in the area control unit closest to the physical location of the sensors and actuators involved in the target software, following the proximity principle. Deploying according to the above proximity principle can reduce the wiring harness length between sensors / actuators and area control units, shorten signal transmission time, reduce wiring complexity, reduce overall vehicle wiring harness cost, and reduce overall vehicle weight.

[0047] The control system further includes an in-vehicle T-BOX control module, wherein: the in-vehicle T-BOX control module is used to interact with the central computing module, the intelligent driving control module, the intelligent cockpit control module and the area control module via Ethernet communication, and to upgrade and update the control system based on the information interaction and communication with the cloud server, wherein the communication with the cloud server is based on fifth-generation mobile communication technology.

[0048] Specifically, this control system may also include an onboard T-BOX control module, which can be understood as an onboard T-BOX (controller), and will be referred to as the onboard T-BOX control module below. The central computing module, intelligent driving control module, intelligent cockpit control module, and area control module within this control system can communicate with the onboard T-BOX via Ethernet. The onboard T-BOX and the cloud server can interact using 5G (5th Generation Mobile Communication Technology), such as storing target vehicle data in the cloud. As the hub of the target vehicle network, the central computing module can establish secure communication with the cloud through the onboard T-BOX. Software programs can be transferred to the central computing module via over-the-air (OTA) download technology. This control system can also utilize Ethernet communication to transmit new programs to the area control unit at high speed, thereby enabling software updates and upgrades.

[0049] The central computing module includes multiple network interfaces of different types to enable communication with the vehicle-mounted T-BOX control module, the intelligent driving control module, the intelligent cockpit control module, and the area control module.

[0050] Specifically, the communication methods between the vehicle-mounted T-BOX control module, intelligent driving control module, intelligent cockpit control module, and regional control module and the central computing module can be different. By arranging multiple different types of network interfaces in the central computing module, secure and reliable communication between different types of networks can be ensured, further improving the robustness of signal transmission.

[0051] Optionally, the area control unit can connect sensors and actuators within its coverage area via interfaces such as CAN FD, CAN, or LIN. The area control unit can abstract the sensors and actuators to provide a stable application-layer software interface. The number of communication lines required can be determined based on the number of sensors and actuators, and sensors and actuators with the same communication rate and bandwidth requirements can be configured onto the same communication line.

[0052] The chips corresponding to the central computing module, the intelligent driving control module, and the intelligent cockpit control module include system-on-a-chip (SoC), and the chips corresponding to the regional control unit include microcontroller chips.

[0053] The preset intelligent driving sensors include at least a camera and a radar sensor, and the preset intelligent cockpit software includes audio-visual entertainment software and instrument panel display software.

[0054] Specifically, by pre-embedding high-performance, high-computing-power chips, such as System-on-Chips (SoCs), in the central computing module, intelligent driving control module, and intelligent cockpit control module, software updates and upgrades can be performed later via over-the-air (OTA) download technology, expanding vehicle functionality and allowing the software to deeply participate in the entire vehicle lifecycle, continuously upgrading services and constantly improving the user experience. Since the regional control units have lower computing power requirements, only MCU chips can be deployed in them.

[0055] The control system provided in this invention significantly reduces the number of controllers in a vehicle by deploying a System-on-Chip (SoC) and a high-performance MCU chip. It employs both ring and star network topologies for network layout, allowing the vehicle to benefit from the advantages of both methods. By using different communication methods such as CAN FD, 100base-T1 Ethernet, and 1000base-T1 Ethernet between controllers, this control system improves the fault tolerance of in-vehicle communication while also addressing requirements for communication stability, bandwidth, and latency. Based on the physical location of sensors and actuators, the control system determines the location of the area controllers or regional controllers where functional software is deployed, using a proximity principle. This reduces the complexity and cost of wiring harnesses, and lightens the overall vehicle weight. Furthermore, by pre-embedding high-performance, high-computing-power chips, the control system ensures that software updates and upgrades can be performed over-the-air (OTA) to expand vehicle functionality. This allows the software to deeply participate in the entire vehicle lifecycle, providing continuous upgrades and enhancing the user experience.

[0056] Example 3

[0057] This invention provides a vehicle, which may be composed of two or more physical entities. The vehicle may be equipped with the control system described in the above embodiments. In this embodiment, the vehicle may be a vehicle with Level 3 or higher autonomous driving capabilities.

[0058] The vehicle may be equipped with: a central computing module, an intelligent driving control module, an intelligent cockpit control module, and a regional control module, wherein the regional control module includes multiple regional control units, wherein:

[0059] The intelligent driving control module is used to determine intelligent driving control commands based on the collected preset intelligent driving sensor information, and to send the intelligent driving control commands to the first area control unit to achieve autonomous driving functions at level L3 or above.

[0060] The intelligent cockpit control module is used to send intelligent cockpit control commands to the second area control unit according to the operating information of the preset intelligent cockpit software, so as to control the preset intelligent cockpit software.

[0061] The central computing module is used to communicate with the intelligent driving control module and the intelligent cockpit control module using a first preset communication method, and to communicate with the third area control unit using a second preset communication method, wherein the bandwidth corresponding to the first preset communication method is greater than the bandwidth corresponding to the second preset communication method.

[0062] The area control module is used to drive the actuator to control the target vehicle according to the control instructions and the vehicle operation information sent by the central computing module, wherein the control instructions include the intelligent driving control instructions and the intelligent cockpit control instructions.

[0063] The vehicles provided above can be equipped with the control system described in the above embodiments, and have corresponding functions and beneficial effects.

[0064] It is worth noting that in the above-described vehicle embodiments, the various units and modules included are only divided according to functional logic, but are not limited to the above division, as long as the corresponding functions can be achieved; in addition, the specific names of each functional unit are only for easy differentiation and are not used to limit the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0065] Note that the above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and the technical principles employed. Those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described herein, and various obvious changes, readjustments, and substitutions can be made without departing from the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, although the present invention has been described in detail through the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and may include many other equivalent embodiments without departing from the concept of the present invention, the scope of which is determined by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A control system, characterized in that, Applied to vehicles, the control system includes an intelligent driving control module, an intelligent cockpit control module, a central computing module, and a regional control module. The regional control module includes multiple regional control units, wherein: The intelligent driving control module is used to determine intelligent driving control commands based on the collected preset intelligent driving sensor information, and to send the intelligent driving control commands to the first area control unit to achieve autonomous driving functions at level L3 or above. The intelligent cockpit control module is used to send intelligent cockpit control commands to the second area control unit according to the operating information of the preset intelligent cockpit software, so as to control the preset intelligent cockpit software. The central computing module is used to communicate with the intelligent driving control module and the intelligent cockpit control module using a first preset communication method, and to communicate with the third area control unit using a second preset communication method. The bandwidth corresponding to the first preset communication method is greater than the bandwidth corresponding to the second preset communication method. The central computing module is equipped with an MCU security island. The area control module is used to drive the actuator to control the target vehicle according to the control instructions and the vehicle operation information sent by the central computing module, wherein the control instructions include the intelligent driving control instructions and the intelligent cockpit control instructions.

2. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that, Both the first preset communication method and the second preset communication method include at least two different communication methods. The first preset communication method includes at least Ethernet communication method and CAN FD communication method, wherein the CAN FD communication method is used for communication redundancy backup.

3. The system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The physical location of the area control unit in the target vehicle, the physical location of the sensors in the target vehicle, and the physical location of the actuator meet the preset proximity conditions.

4. The system according to claim 3, characterized in that, The preset proximity conditions include: For a target area control unit, a target sensor, and a target actuator corresponding to the same target software, the distance between the physical location of the target area control unit where the target software is deployed and the physical location of the target sensor is less than a first preset threshold, and the distance between the physical location of the target area control unit and the physical location of the target actuator is less than a second preset threshold. The target software is used to implement the target function, the target sensor includes a sensor that outputs the sensing data required by the target software to the target area control unit, and the target actuator includes an actuator that receives drive information from the target area control unit.

5. The system according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The control system also includes an on-board T-BOX control module, wherein: The vehicle-mounted T-BOX control module is used to interact with the central computing module, the intelligent driving control module, the intelligent cockpit control module, and the area control module via Ethernet communication. Based on the information interaction and communication with the cloud server, it can upgrade and update the control system. The communication with the cloud server is based on fifth-generation mobile communication technology.

6. The system according to claim 5, characterized in that, The central computing module includes multiple network interfaces of different types to enable communication with the vehicle-mounted T-BOX control module, the intelligent driving control module, the intelligent cockpit control module, and the area control module.

7. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The chips corresponding to the central computing module, the intelligent driving control module, and the intelligent cockpit control module include system-on-a-chip (SoC), and the chips corresponding to the regional control unit include microcontroller chips.

8. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The preset intelligent driving sensors include at least a camera and a radar sensor, and the preset intelligent cockpit software includes audio-visual entertainment software and instrument panel display software.

9. A vehicle, characterized in that, Includes the control system as described in any one of claims 1-8.

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