Vehicle splash control method and system

Abstract

The application provides a vehicle anti-splashing control method, which comprises the following steps: if a target vehicle exists in a detection area in front of the vehicle during driving and a water pit exists within a set distance in front of the target vehicle, the vehicle enters an anti-splashing mode; and in the anti-splashing mode, the vehicle selects different levels of avoidance processing in turn. The application identifies the scenario that the vehicle may be splashed by a preceding vehicle, and through multi-level avoidance processing, the probability of being splashed by the preceding vehicle is reduced, and the driving experience and driving safety of the user are greatly improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of vehicle safety control technology, and provides a vehicle splash prevention control method and system. Background Technology

[0002] During or after rainfall, uneven road surfaces may create puddles. While smaller puddles are generally not a problem for vehicles driving through, larger puddles can cause significant splashes or waves if driven through at high speeds. This can splash water onto other vehicles or pedestrians, potentially obscuring the windshields of following vehicles and soiling them, leading to complaints.

[0003] When a following vehicle notices water splashed by the vehicle in front, it usually manually activates the wipers and / or washer system to remove the water from the windshield, improving the driver's visibility and increasing driving safety. However, this splash-proof method has the following problems:

[0004] Manually activating the windshield wipers after noticing water splashing from the vehicle in front may result in delayed activation, causing temporary blurred or lost visibility, which could easily cause driver panic. In addition, manually activating the wipers requires distracting the driver's attention, which could easily lead to safety hazards. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of this, this application provides a vehicle splash prevention control method, which aims to improve the above-mentioned problems.

[0006] Specifically, the following technical solutions are included:

[0007] On the one hand, embodiments of this application provide a vehicle splash prevention control method, the method comprising the following steps:

[0008] If a target vehicle is present in the detection area ahead while the vehicle is in motion, and there is a puddle within a set distance ahead of the target vehicle, the vehicle will enter anti-splash mode.

[0009] In splash-proof mode, the vehicle selects different levels of avoidance measures in sequence.

[0010] In some embodiments, after entering the splash-proof mode, the first level of avoidance processing is initiated, which involves issuing splash risk warnings and lane-changing reminders.

[0011] In some embodiments, if the vehicle is still in splash-proof mode after a set time has elapsed since the lane change reminder was issued, the vehicle will enter a secondary avoidance process, that is, the vehicle's automatic lane change function will be activated.

[0012] In some embodiments, after the vehicle's automatic lane-changing function, if the distance between the vehicle and the target vehicle is less than a distance threshold of 1, the vehicle is in splash-proof mode and enters the third-level avoidance process, that is, controlling the vehicle to reduce speed.

[0013] In some embodiments, after the vehicle decelerates, if the distance between the vehicle and the target vehicle is reduced to less than a distance threshold of 2, the vehicle is in splash-proof mode and enters the fourth level of avoidance processing, controlling the windshield wipers to rotate at high speed.

[0014] In some embodiments, after entering the fourth level of avoidance processing, the vehicle's windows and sunroof are closed.

[0015] In some embodiments, the method for identifying puddles in front of a target vehicle is as follows:

[0016] This vehicle reads road information from the cloud platform, either from environmental sensors or collected and uploaded by the vehicle in front, including the location and size of puddles.

[0017] In some embodiments, during the secondary avoidance process, a distance threshold 1 is set based on the distance between the target vehicle and the puddle at this time, and during the tertiary avoidance process, a line distance threshold 2 is set based on the distance between the target vehicle and the puddle at this time.

[0018] The smaller the distance between the target vehicle and the puddle, the larger the distance threshold 1 and distance threshold 2 will be.

[0019] In some embodiments, the detection area is determined based on the vehicle speed; the higher the vehicle speed, the greater the detection depth value of the detection area.

[0020] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide a vehicle splash-proof control system, the system comprising:

[0021] The forward-facing camera is integrated into the vehicle and is connected to the processing unit.

[0022] This vehicle is remotely connected to the cloud platform;

[0023] The forward-facing camera captures images of the road ahead and sends them to the processing unit. The vehicle reads road information from the cloud platform in real time and sends it to the processing unit. The processing unit controls the vehicle based on the aforementioned vehicle splash-proof control method to reduce the possibility of being splashed by water from vehicles in front.

[0024] This invention identifies scenarios where the vehicle may be splashed with water by the vehicle in front and uses multi-level avoidance measures to reduce the probability of being splashed, greatly improving the user's driving experience and driving safety. Attached Figure Description

[0025] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, 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 this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0026] Figure 1 A flowchart of a vehicle splash prevention control method provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the vehicle splash-proof control system provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] The accompanying drawings illustrate specific embodiments of this application, which will be described in more detail below. These drawings and descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of the concept in any way, but rather to illustrate the concept of this application to those skilled in the art through reference to particular embodiments.

[0029] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this application, not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0030] Unless otherwise defined, all technical terms used in the embodiments of this application have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.

[0031] To make the technical solution and advantages of this application clearer, the embodiments of this application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The flow of the vehicle splash-proof control method of this application will be explained as follows: Figure 1 As shown, the vehicle splash control method includes the following steps:

[0032] S1. If a target vehicle is present in the detection area ahead while the vehicle is in motion, and there is a puddle within a set distance ahead of the target vehicle, the vehicle will be in anti-splash mode.

[0033] In this embodiment of the invention, the detection area is determined based on the vehicle's speed. The detection area is generally rectangular, the detection depth refers to the detection distance in front of the vehicle (i.e., longitudinally), and the detection width refers to the detection width on both sides of the vehicle. The method for determining the detection area corresponding to vehicle speed is as follows:

[0034] The vehicle speed-detection depth mapping relationship is used to find the detection depth corresponding to the current vehicle speed. The vehicle speed-detection depth mapping relationship is obtained through real vehicle calibration. The higher the vehicle speed, the greater the detection depth value of the detection area.

[0035] In this embodiment of the invention, if there is only one vehicle in the detection area, that vehicle is designated as the target vehicle. If there are multiple vehicles in the detection area, the vehicle closest to the vehicle in the detection area is designated as the target vehicle. After locking the target vehicle, the system detects whether there is a puddle within a set distance from the target vehicle ahead. If the detection result is yes, the system controls the vehicle to enter the anti-splash mode.

[0036] It should be noted that when the vehicle is in the ON position, the vehicle's splash-proof function can be turned on or off via the in-vehicle screen. The splash-proof mode will only activate when the vehicle's splash-proof function is on, a target vehicle is present in the detection area, and there is a puddle within a set distance in front of the target vehicle. If there is no target vehicle in the detection area or no puddle is present within the set distance in front of the target vehicle, the vehicle will deactivate the splash-proof mode.

[0037] In this embodiment of the invention, the method for determining whether there is a puddle ahead of the target vehicle is as follows:

[0038] (1) Environmental sensors collect road surface information, including the location and size of puddles, and upload the collected road surface information to the cloud platform. The vehicle reads the information of puddles located within a set distance in front of the target vehicle from the cloud platform. If the size of the puddles is greater than the size threshold, it is determined that there are puddles within the set distance in front of the target vehicle.

[0039] (2) The vehicle sensor identifies road surface information, including the location and size of the puddle, and uploads the collected road surface information to the cloud platform. The vehicle reads the puddle information located within a set distance in front of the target vehicle from the cloud platform. If the size of the puddle is greater than the size threshold, it is determined that there is a puddle within the set distance in front of the target vehicle.

[0040] S2. In splash-proof mode, the vehicle selects different levels of avoidance handling in sequence.

[0041] In this embodiment of the invention, the vehicle uses windshield wipers to handle water splashes from the vehicle in front. While this helps improve the driver's visibility, its effectiveness is relatively poor. Therefore, this invention considers changing lanes to avoid water splashes from the vehicle in front. This avoids water splashes from the vehicle in front while having a minimal impact on the vehicle's speed. Based on this, after the vehicle enters the anti-splash mode, it enters the first level of avoidance processing, which involves issuing a splash risk warning and lane change reminder.

[0042] The first level of avoidance process alerts the driver to the risk of splashing and provides a lane change suggestion. If the vehicle remains in splash-proof mode within the set time period after the lane change reminder is issued, the second level of avoidance process is initiated, activating the vehicle's automatic lane change function.

[0043] After the automatic lane changing function is activated, the vehicle may fail to complete the automatic lane changing due to the following two reasons: (1) The current road conditions do not meet the conditions for automatic lane changing, resulting in the vehicle failing to change lanes automatically; (2) After entering the automatic lane changing function, if the steering wheel is found to be restricted or there is external force on the steering wheel, the automatic lane changing function will be deactivated.

[0044] If the vehicle fails to change lanes due to reason (1), and the distance between the vehicle and the target vehicle is less than or equal to the distance threshold 1, and the vehicle is still in anti-splash mode, then it will enter the third-level avoidance process.

[0045] If the vehicle fails to change lanes due to reason (2), when exiting the automatic lane changing function, if the vehicle is still in anti-splash mode, it will directly enter the third-level avoidance process, that is, control the vehicle to slow down.

[0046] If lane-changing to avoid a collision fails, try to reduce your vehicle's speed to increase the distance between you and the target vehicle, thus reducing the likelihood of water splashing onto your windshield. If the target vehicle is also slowing down, the distance between you and the target vehicle may decrease, making it impossible to reduce the possibility of being splashed with water.

[0047] Based on this, after the vehicle decelerates, if the distance between the vehicle and the target vehicle decreases to less than distance threshold 2 (where distance threshold 2 is less than distance threshold 1), and the vehicle is still in splash-proof mode, then a level four avoidance maneuver will be initiated. Since the distance between the vehicle and the target vehicle is relatively close at this point, the only measure for level four avoidance is to activate the windshield wipers and control them to rotate at a higher speed to counteract the water splashed by the vehicle in front, thereby improving the driver's visibility. Furthermore, to prevent water from splashing into the vehicle's interior, the windshield wipers will automatically activate while the windows and sunroof are closed upon entering level four avoidance.

[0048] In this embodiment of the invention, the distance threshold 1 and distance threshold 2 are set based on the distance between the target vehicle and the puddle when entering the corresponding level of avoidance processing. During the level 2 avoidance processing, distance threshold 1 is set based on the distance between the target vehicle and the puddle at this time to adjust the entry timing for entering level 3 avoidance. During the level 3 avoidance processing, distance threshold 2 is set based on the distance between the target vehicle and the puddle at this time to adjust the entry timing for entering level 4 avoidance. The smaller the distance between the target vehicle and the puddle, the larger distance threshold 1 and distance threshold 2 are, thereby further reducing the probability of the vehicle being splashed by water from the vehicle in front.

[0049] Distance threshold 1 and distance threshold 2 are determined by looking up a table. A mapping table is established between the distance between the target vehicle and the puddle, distance threshold 1, and distance threshold 2. The time when the distance between the target vehicle and the puddle is measured can be when entering the secondary or tertiary avoidance process, or after a set time after entering the secondary or tertiary avoidance process. The distance threshold 1 or distance threshold 2 is determined based on the distance between the target vehicle and the puddle at this time.

[0050] This invention identifies scenarios where the vehicle may be splashed with water by the vehicle in front and prioritizes lane changing to avoid it. This avoidance method not only effectively avoids water splashing from the vehicle in front but also does not affect the normal driving of the vehicle. If lane changing fails, the vehicle actively slows down and controls the distance between the vehicle and the target vehicle to achieve the avoidance effect. If active slowing down fails, the only way to reduce the safety hazards caused by excessive water splashing from the vehicle in front is to actively activate the windshield wipers. Through multi-level avoidance processing, the user's driving experience and driving safety are greatly improved.

[0051] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the vehicle splash-proof control system provided in an embodiment of the present invention. For ease of explanation, only the parts relevant to the embodiment of the present invention are shown. The system includes:

[0052] The forward-facing camera is integrated into the vehicle and is connected to the processing unit.

[0053] This vehicle is remotely connected to the cloud platform;

[0054] The forward-facing camera captures images of the road ahead and sends them to the processing unit. The vehicle reads road information from the cloud platform in real time and sends it to the processing unit as well. The processing unit controls the vehicle based on the aforementioned vehicle splash-proof control method to reduce the possibility of being splashed by water from the vehicle in front. This invention identifies scenarios where the vehicle may be splashed by water from the vehicle in front and uses multi-level avoidance processing to reduce the probability of being splashed by water from the vehicle in front, greatly improving the user's driving experience and driving safety.

[0055] In this embodiment of the invention, in order to save hardware costs, the above-mentioned processing unit may be integrated into the vehicle's existing controller, such as the vehicle control unit (ECU). Of course, the above-mentioned processing unit may also be set up independently.

[0056] Other embodiments of this application will readily occur to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the specification and practice of the application disclosed herein. This application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of this application that follow the general principles of this application and include common knowledge or customary techniques in the art not disclosed herein. The specification and examples are to be considered exemplary only.

[0057] It should be understood that this application is not limited to the precise structure described above and shown in the accompanying drawings, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from its scope. The scope of this application is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A vehicle splash control method characterized by, The method comprises the following steps: If a target vehicle exists in the detection area in front of the vehicle during driving, and a water pit exists in a set distance in front of the target vehicle, the vehicle enters a splash-proof mode; In the splash-proof mode, the vehicle selects different levels of avoidance processing in turn; After entering the splash-proof mode, the vehicle enters the first level of avoidance processing, i.e., issuing a splash risk prompt and a lane change reminder; After the set time of issuing the lane change reminder, if the vehicle is still in the splash-proof mode, the vehicle enters the second level of avoidance processing, i.e., starting the automatic lane change function of the vehicle; After the automatic lane change function of the vehicle, if the distance between the vehicle and the target vehicle is less than a distance threshold one, the vehicle is in the splash-proof mode, the vehicle enters the third level of avoidance processing, i.e., controlling the vehicle to slow down; After the vehicle slows down, if the distance between the vehicle and the target vehicle is reduced to less than a distance threshold two, the vehicle is in the splash-proof mode, the vehicle enters the fourth level of avoidance processing, i.e., controlling the windshield wiper to rotate at high speed; The water pit identification method in front of the target vehicle is as follows: The vehicle reads the road surface information collected and uploaded by the environment sensor or the front vehicle from the cloud platform, including the water pit position and the water pit size.

2. The vehicle splash control method according to claim 1, characterized by, After entering the fourth level of avoidance processing, the vehicle's windows and sunroof are controlled to be closed.

3. The vehicle splash control method of claim 1, wherein In the second level of avoidance processing, the distance threshold one is set based on the distance between the target vehicle and the water pit at this time, and in the third level of avoidance processing, the distance threshold two is set based on the distance between the target vehicle and the water pit at this time; The smaller the distance value between the target vehicle and the water pit is, the larger the distance threshold one and the distance threshold two are.

4. The vehicle splash control method of claim 1, wherein The detection area is determined based on the vehicle speed, and the larger the vehicle speed is, the larger the detection depth value of the detection area is.

5. A vehicle splash control system, characterized by, The system comprises: A front-view camera integrated on the vehicle, which is in communication connection with the processing unit; The vehicle is in remote communication connection with the cloud platform; The front-view camera captures the road surface image in front of the vehicle and sends it to the processing unit, the vehicle reads the road surface information from the cloud platform in real time and sends it to the processing unit, and the processing unit controls the vehicle based on the vehicle splash-proof control method of any one of claims 1 to 4 to reduce the possibility of being splashed by the water splashed by the front vehicle.

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