Vehicle and control method thereof

Abstract

The invention discloses a vehicle and a control method thereof. The vehicle includes: a sensor unit for detecting driving information of the vehicle; the front wheel suspension and the rear wheel suspension are respectively arranged on a front wheel and a rear wheel of the vehicle and respectively comprise a spring and a damper; and a control unit for setting a sensitivity for controlling a damping force of the front wheel suspension and the rear wheel suspension on the basis of the distance from the front vehicle detected by the sensor unit when the driving mode of the vehicle is an autonomous driving mode or a semi-autonomous driving mode, the damping force of the front wheel suspension and the rear wheel suspension is adjusted according to the change state of the distance from the front vehicle and the acceleration and deceleration states of the vehicle.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0132414 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on October 5, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle and a control method thereof, and more particularly to a vehicle and a control method thereof that can improve the riding comfort of passengers by controlling a suspension when the vehicle is in an automatic driving state. Background Art

[0004] Generally speaking, when a vehicle is traveling on an uneven road, the bottom of the vehicle may be scratched, or the driver or passengers may feel uncomfortable due to impact or vibration.

[0005] Therefore, vehicles are equipped with suspensions to prevent damage to the vehicle body and improve the ride comfort of the driver or passengers. The suspension is connected to the axle to prevent vibration or impact from the road surface from being directly transmitted to the vehicle body during driving, thereby preventing damage to the vehicle body or improving the ride comfort of passengers.

[0006] In recent years, vehicles have been equipped with Electronically Controlled Suspensions (ECS) that adjust the stiffness of the suspension according to the driving conditions of the vehicle or the road surface.

[0007] The electronically controlled suspension can detect the vehicle's driving status, such as vehicle speed, vehicle acceleration, steering angle, and road surface information, through various sensor devices, and adjust the suspension's spring constant, the damping force of the damper, the vehicle's posture, and the vehicle's height according to the vehicle's driving status and road surface information.

[0008] In addition, in recent years, the introduction of automatic or semi-automatic vehicles has increased. When a vehicle is driving in an automatic or semi-automatic state, a momentary intervention by the vehicle ahead may cause the vehicle to brake suddenly, and the resulting vehicle behavior may be unpleasant to the driver.

[0009] The contents described in the description of the related art are prepared to enhance understanding of the background of the present disclosure, and may include contents that are not known to one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present technology belongs. Summary of the invention

[0010] The present disclosure seeks to provide a vehicle and a control method thereof that are capable of actively controlling a suspension in preparation for instantaneous intervention by a vehicle ahead of the vehicle in an autonomous or semi-autonomous driving situation.

[0011] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a vehicle, comprising: a sensor unit for detecting driving information of the vehicle; a front wheel suspension and a rear wheel suspension, each of which is arranged on the front wheel and the rear wheel of the vehicle, and each includes a spring and a damper; and a control unit for setting the sensitivity of the damping force for controlling the suspension based on the distance to the vehicle in front detected by the sensor unit when the driving mode of the vehicle is an automatic driving mode or a semi-automatic driving mode, and adjusting the damping force of the suspension according to the changing state of the distance to the vehicle in front and the acceleration and deceleration state of the vehicle.

[0012] In some embodiments, the driving information detected by the sensor unit may include a road surface condition, a distance to a vehicle ahead, an acceleration of the vehicle, and a deceleration of the vehicle.

[0013] In some embodiments, the control unit may set the sensitivity of the damping force for controlling the suspension to a first mode when the distance to the vehicle ahead is less than a first reference distance, set the sensitivity of the damping force for controlling the suspension to a second mode when the distance to the vehicle ahead is equal to or greater than the first reference distance and less than a second reference distance, and set the sensitivity of the damping force for controlling the suspension to a third mode when the distance to the vehicle ahead is equal to or greater than the second reference distance.

[0014] In some embodiments, when the change state of the distance to the preceding vehicle is a decreasing state, the control unit may increase the compression damping force of the suspension of the front wheels, and increase the rebound damping force of the suspension of the rear wheels.

[0015] In some embodiments, when the change state of the distance to the preceding vehicle is an increasing state, the control unit may increase the rebound damping force of the suspension of the front wheels, and increase the compression damping force of the suspension of the rear wheels.

[0016] In some embodiments, when the acceleration of the vehicle is equal to or greater than the reference acceleration, the control unit may additionally increase the rebound damping force of the suspension of the front wheels, and additionally increase the compression damping force of the suspension of the rear wheels.

[0017] In some embodiments, when the deceleration of the vehicle is equal to or greater than the reference deceleration, the control unit may additionally increase the compression damping force of the suspension of the front wheels, and additionally increase the rebound damping force of the suspension of the rear wheels.

[0018] In some embodiments, the control unit adjusts the sensitivity of controlling the damping force of the suspension and the damping force of the suspension only when the flatness of the road condition of the road ahead (i.e., the road ahead of the vehicle) detected by the sensor unit is equal to or greater than the reference flatness.

[0019] Another embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for controlling a vehicle, the method comprising: determining whether the vehicle is in an automatic driving state or a semi-automatic driving state by a control unit; setting the sensitivity of the damping force for controlling the suspension based on the distance to the vehicle in front of the vehicle by the control unit; adjusting the damping force of the suspension based on the changing state of the distance to the vehicle in front by the control unit; and additionally adjusting the damping force of the suspension based on the acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle by the control unit.

[0020] In some embodiments, when setting the sensitivity of the damping force for controlling the suspension, when the distance to the vehicle ahead is less than a first reference distance, the sensitivity of the damping force for controlling the suspension can be set to a first mode, when the distance to the vehicle ahead is equal to or greater than the first reference distance and less than a second reference distance, the sensitivity of the damping force for controlling the suspension can be set to a second mode, and when the distance to the vehicle ahead is equal to or greater than the second reference distance, the sensitivity of the damping force for controlling the suspension can be set to a third mode.

[0021] In some embodiments, when the change state of the distance to the preceding vehicle is a decreasing state, the compression damping force of the suspension of the front wheels may be increased, and the rebound damping force of the suspension of the rear wheels may be increased.

[0022] In some embodiments, when the change state of the distance to the preceding vehicle is an increasing state, the rebound damping force of the suspension of the front wheels may be increased, and the compression damping force of the suspension of the rear wheels may be increased.

[0023] In some embodiments, when the acceleration of the vehicle is equal to or greater than the reference acceleration, the rebound damping force of the suspension of the front wheels may be additionally increased, and the compression damping force of the suspension of the rear wheels may be additionally increased.

[0024] In some embodiments, when the deceleration of the vehicle is equal to or greater than the reference deceleration, the control unit may additionally increase the compression damping force of the suspension of the front wheels, and may additionally increase the rebound damping force of the suspension of the rear wheels.

[0025] In some embodiments, the method may further include determining, by a control unit, whether the flatness of the road ahead is equal to or greater than a reference flatness, wherein only when the flatness of the road ahead is equal to or greater than the reference flatness, the sensitivity for controlling the damping force of the suspension will be set, and the damping force of the suspension can be adjusted.

[0026] According to an embodiment, by predicting the driving behavior of the vehicle in advance and actively responding to the suspension when pitch motion is expected, the pitch motion can be quickly suppressed when the pitch motion actually occurs.

[0027] Other effects that can be obtained or expected by the embodiments of the present disclosure are disclosed directly or by implication in the detailed description of the present disclosure. In other words, various effects expected by the present disclosure are disclosed in the following detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] These drawings are referred to when describing the embodiments of the present disclosure, and the technical spirit of the present disclosure should not be construed as being limited to the drawings.

[0029] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle according to the embodiment.

[0030] Figure 2A and Figure 2B is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a vehicle according to an embodiment.

[0031] Figure 3A and Figure 3B is a diagram illustrating a method of suppressing a pitch motion of a vehicle according to an embodiment.

[0032] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating a computing device according to an embodiment.

[0033] Description of reference numerals:

[0034] 10: Front wheel suspension

[0035] 11: Front wheel spring

[0036] 13: Front wheel damper

[0037] 20: Rear wheel suspension

[0038] 21: Rear wheel spring

[0039] 23: Rear wheel damper

[0040] 30: Sensor unit

[0041] 40: Control unit

[0042] It should be understood that the aforementioned reference drawings are not necessarily shown to scale and that they present

[0043] A slightly simplified representation of various features illustrating the basic principles of the present disclosure.

[0044] Specific design features including specific dimensions, orientations, locations and shapes may be determined in part by specific

[0045] The intended application and usage environment are determined. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] The terms used herein are used to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. As used herein, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular form is intended to include the plural form. When the terms "include" and / or "comprise" are used in this specification, the terms "include" and / or "comprise" specify the presence of the mentioned features, wholes, steps, operations, constituent elements and / or components, but it should also be understood that this does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, wholes, steps, operations, constituent elements, components and / or their groups. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any one or any combination of the items listed and related thereto.

[0047] In addition, it should be understood that one or more of the following methods or aspects thereof may be run by at least one or more controllers. The term "controller" may refer to a hardware device including a memory and a processor. The memory is configured to store program commands, and the processor is specially programmed to run the program commands to perform one or more processes described in more detail below. The controller may control the operation of a unit, module, component, device, or the like as described herein. Further, it should be understood that the following methods may be run by a device including a controller and one or more other components recognized by a person of ordinary skill in the art.

[0048] Further, the controller of the present disclosure may be implemented as a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium including program commands executable by a processor. Examples of computer-readable recording media include read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), compact disk (CD) ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, flash drive, smart card, and optical data storage device, but computer-readable recording media are not limited thereto. The computer-readable recording medium may also be distributed on a computer network through a distributed method such as a telematics server or a controller area network (CAN) to store and run program commands.

[0049] The following will describe embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily understand the present disclosure. The present disclosure can be implemented in various ways and is not limited to the following embodiments.

[0050] The drawings and description should be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive.Throughout the specification, like reference numerals refer to like elements.

[0051] In addition, the size and thickness of each configuration shown in the drawings are arbitrarily shown for understanding and ease of description, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the thickness of layers, films, panels, regions, etc. are exaggerated for clarity.

[0052] The suffixes “module” and / or “unit” used for constituent elements described below are given or added merely in consideration of ease of writing of the specification, and the suffixes themselves have no distinguished meanings or roles.

[0053] Further, in describing the embodiments disclosed in the present disclosure, when it is determined that a detailed description related to a well-known function or configuration may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the embodiments disclosed in the present disclosure, the detailed description has been omitted.

[0054] Furthermore, the drawings are provided to help easily understand the embodiments disclosed in this specification, and the technical spirit disclosed in this specification is not limited by the drawings, and it should be understood that the present disclosure includes all modifications, equivalent contents and alternative contents included in the spirit and technical scope of the present disclosure.

[0055] Terms including general numerals (eg, first and second) are used to describe various constituent elements, but the constituent elements are not limited by these terms.

[0056] In the following description, unless an explicit expression such as "a" or "single" is used, expressions described in the singular may be construed as either singular or plural.

[0057] These terms are used only to distinguish one constituent element from another constituent element.

[0058] In the flowcharts described with reference to the accompanying drawings, the order of operations may be changed, a plurality of operations may be combined, some operations may be split, and specific operations may not be performed.

[0059] Hereinafter, a vehicle according to an embodiment is described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0060] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle according to the embodiment.

[0061] like Figure 1 As shown, the vehicle according to the embodiment may include a sensor unit 30 , a suspension, and a control unit 40 .

[0062] The sensor unit 30 detects driving information, which includes road conditions, the speed of the vehicle in front of the vehicle, the distance to the vehicle in front of the vehicle, the change in the distance to the vehicle in front of the vehicle, the acceleration state of the vehicle, the braking state of the vehicle, the acceleration of the vehicle and the deceleration of the vehicle, and the detected driving information is sent to the control unit 40.

[0063] To this end, the sensor unit 30 may include a camera for detecting the road surface condition of the road, a speed sensor for detecting the speed of the vehicle in front of the vehicle and the vehicle itself (hereinafter referred to as "vehicle" as needed), a distance sensor for detecting the distance to the vehicle in front of the vehicle, an accelerator pedal sensor for detecting the acceleration state of the vehicle, and a brake pedal sensor for detecting the braking state of the vehicle.

[0064] The camera captures the road surface in front of the vehicle and can acquire image data about the road surface in front of the vehicle. The control unit 40 can calculate the flatness of the road in front of the vehicle based on the image data captured by the camera.

[0065] The accelerator pedal sensor (APS) may detect a depression amount of the accelerator pedal (ie, a position change amount of the accelerator pedal) and detect an acceleration state of the vehicle according to the depression amount of the accelerator pedal.

[0066] The brake pedal sensor (BPS) may detect a depression amount of the brake pedal (ie, a position change amount of the brake pedal) and detect a braking state of the vehicle according to the depression amount of the brake pedal.

[0067] The sensor unit 30 may further include a driving mode selection button manipulated by the driver. The vehicle may travel in an automatic driving mode or a semi-automatic driving mode by the driving mode selection button manipulated by the driver.

[0068] The suspension may include a front wheel suspension 10 and a rear wheel suspension 20, each of which may include a spring (front wheel spring 11, rear wheel spring 21) and a damper (front wheel damper 13, rear wheel damper 23). In one embodiment, the suspension may be implemented as an electronically controlled suspension (ECS).

[0069] The springs 11, 21 can be compressed and tightened according to the road surface conditions to absorb vibration or impact from the road surface. In the present embodiment, the springs 11, 21 can be implemented by using air springs with adjustable stiffness and height.

[0070] The dampers 13 and 23 can damp vibrations caused by the springs 11 and 21. The dampers 13 and 23 can provide a force in the opposite direction to the force generated by the springs 11 and 21, thereby generating a damping force that suppresses the vibrations of the springs 11 and 21.

[0071] In one embodiment, the damper 13, 23 may include a piston rod and a solenoid valve. The damper 13, 23 may generate a damping force through a compression stroke and a rebound stroke. In the present disclosure, the damping force that suppresses the vibration in the direction in which the springs 11, 21 are compressed is referred to as a compression damping force, and the damping force that suppresses the vibration in the direction in which the springs 11, 21 rebound is referred to as a rebound damping force. The movement of the solenoid valve adjusts the size of the flow path as the fluid movement path, so that the damping force can be adjusted. The suspension can control the damping force of the damper based on a control signal sent from the control unit 40.

[0072] The control unit 40 may control the operation of the suspension based on the driving information detected by the sensor unit 30 .

[0073] To this end, the control unit 40 may be implemented as one or more processors operated by a set program, and program commands are stored in a memory of the control unit 40 , which are programmed to cause the one or more processors to perform each operation of the method of controlling a vehicle according to the present disclosure.

[0074] Hereinafter, a method of controlling a vehicle according to an embodiment is described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0075] Figure 2A and Figure 2B is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a vehicle according to an embodiment.

[0076] refer to Figure 2A and Figure 2B The sensor unit 30 detects driving information including road conditions, the speed of the vehicle in front of the vehicle, the distance to the vehicle in front of the vehicle, the change in the distance to the vehicle in front of the vehicle, the acceleration state of the vehicle, the braking state of the vehicle, and the acceleration of the vehicle, and sends the detected driving information to the control unit (S10).

[0077] The control unit 40 determines whether the vehicle is in an automatic driving state or a semi-automatic driving state (S20). The control unit 40 may determine the automatic driving state or the semi-automatic driving state based on the driver's manipulation of the driving mode selection button.

[0078] When the vehicle is in an automatic driving state or a semi-automatic driving state, the control unit 40 determines whether the flatness of the road ahead of the vehicle is equal to or greater than a reference flatness (S30). The control unit 40 may calculate the flatness of the road ahead based on the image data detected by the sensor unit 30.

[0079] When the flatness of the front road is equal to or greater than the reference flatness (ie, the front road has a smaller road curvature and a smaller road unevenness), the control unit 40 sets the sensitivity for controlling the damping force of the suspension based on the distance to the front vehicle.

[0080] Specifically, the control unit 40 determines whether the distance to the preceding vehicle (vehicle distance) is less than a first reference distance or equal to or greater than a second reference distance ( S40 ).

[0081] When the distance to the preceding vehicle is less than the first reference distance (ie, the vehicle approaches the preceding vehicle), the control unit 40 sets the sensitivity for controlling the damping force of the suspension to the first mode (S41).

[0082] When the distance to the front vehicle is equal to or greater than a first reference distance (e.g., 100 meters), the control unit 40 determines whether the distance to the front vehicle is less than a second reference distance (e.g., 150 meters), the second reference distance being greater than the first reference distance. When the distance to the front vehicle is equal to or greater than the first reference distance and less than the second reference distance, the control unit 40 sets the sensitivity of the damping force for controlling the suspension to the second mode (S43).

[0083] When the distance to the preceding vehicle is equal to or greater than the second reference distance, the control unit 40 sets the sensitivity for controlling the damping force of the suspension to the third mode (S45).

[0084] In the first mode, the sensitivity of the damping force for controlling the suspension is set larger, in the third mode, the sensitivity of the damping force for controlling the suspension is set smaller, and in the second mode, the sensitivity of the damping force for controlling the suspension is set between the first mode and the third mode.

[0085] When the sensitivity for controlling the damping force of the suspension increases, as in the first mode, the damping force of the suspension can be adjusted to be large by a relatively small control input. This means that when the sensitivity is large, the damping force of the suspension can be controlled relatively quickly. Therefore, when the vehicle approaches the preceding vehicle, the sensitivity for controlling the damping force can be set large, and the damping force of the suspension can be adjusted quickly by a small control input.

[0086] In contrast, when the sensitivity of controlling the damping force of the suspension is reduced, as in the third mode, the damping force of the suspension can be adjusted to be larger by a relatively large control input. This means that when the sensitivity is small, the damping force of the suspension can be controlled relatively slowly. Therefore, when the vehicle is far away from the vehicle ahead, the sensitivity of controlling the damping force can be set to be smaller, and the damping force of the suspension can be adjusted slowly by a large control input.

[0087] The control unit 40 adjusts the damping force of the suspension based on the change in the distance to the preceding vehicle (or based on the changing state of the distance to the preceding vehicle).

[0088] Specifically, the control unit 40 determines whether the change state of the distance to the preceding vehicle is in a decreasing state (S50).

[0089] When the change state of the distance to the preceding vehicle is in a decreasing state, the control unit 40 increases the compression control amount of the front wheel suspension 10 and increases the rebound control amount of the rear wheel suspension 20. Then, the stiffness of the springs 11, 21 increases (S51).

[0090] When the compression control amount of the front wheel suspension 10 increases, the compression damping force of the front wheel suspension 10 increases, and when the rebound control amount of the rear wheel suspension 20 increases, the rebound damping force of the rear wheel suspension 20 increases. In this case, the stiffness of the springs 11, 21 of the front wheel suspension 10 and the rear wheel suspension 20 also increases.

[0091] When the changing state of the distance to the vehicle ahead is in a decreasing state, the vehicle operating in the automatic driving mode or the semi-automatic driving mode reduces its speed, which is likely to cause a dive phenomenon in which the front part of the vehicle body tilts forward (hereinafter referred to as "front pitch motion" as needed).

[0092] In this case, the control unit 40 actively performs suspension control to suppress the front pitching motion. In other words, the stiffness of the springs 11, 21 of the front wheel suspension 10 and the rear wheel suspension 20 is increased to suppress the front pitching motion, the compression damping force for suppressing the vibration in the direction of compression of the front wheel spring 11 of the front wheel suspension 10 is increased, and the rebound damping force for suppressing the vibration in the direction of rebound of the rear wheel spring 21 of the rear wheel suspension 20 is increased (see Figure 3A ).

[0093] In this way, by actively performing suspension control to suppress the front pitch motion based on the amount of change in the distance to the vehicle ahead (or the state of change in the distance), the front pitch motion can be quickly suppressed when the front pitch motion actually occurs.

[0094] When the change state of the distance to the front vehicle is not in a decreasing state, the control unit 40 determines whether the change state of the distance to the front vehicle is in an increasing state (S52). When the change state of the distance to the front vehicle is in an increasing state, the control unit 40 increases the rebound control amount of the front wheel suspension 10 and increases the compression control amount of the rear wheel suspension 20. Then, the stiffness of the springs 11, 21 increases (S53).

[0095] When the rebound control amount of the front wheel suspension 10 increases, the rebound damping force of the front wheel suspension 10 increases, and when the compression control amount of the rear wheel suspension 20 increases, the compression damping force of the rear wheel suspension 20 increases. In this case, the stiffness of the springs 11, 21 of the front wheel suspension 10 and the rear wheel suspension 20 also increases.

[0096] When the changing state of the distance to the vehicle ahead is in an increasing state, the vehicle operating in the automatic driving mode or the semi-automatic driving mode increases the vehicle speed, which is likely to cause a squat phenomenon in which the front of the vehicle is lifted (hereinafter referred to as "rear pitch motion" as needed).

[0097] In this case, the control unit 40 actively performs suspension control to suppress the rear pitching motion. In other words, the stiffness of the springs 11, 21 of the front wheel suspension 10 and the rear wheel suspension 20 is increased to suppress the rear pitching motion, the compression damping force for suppressing the vibration in the direction of the front wheel spring 11 of the front wheel suspension 10 rebounding is increased, and the compression damping force for suppressing the vibration in the direction of the rear wheel spring 21 of the rear wheel suspension 20 compressing is increased (see Figure 3B ).

[0098] As described above, by actively performing suspension control to suppress the rear pitch motion, when the rear pitch motion actually occurs, the rear pitch motion can be quickly suppressed.

[0099] The control unit 40 determines whether the vehicle is in an accelerating state or a braking state (S60).

[0100] When the vehicle is in an accelerating state, the control unit 40 determines whether the acceleration of the vehicle is equal to or greater than a reference acceleration (S70).

[0101] When the acceleration of the vehicle is equal to or greater than the reference acceleration (ie, the vehicle accelerates suddenly), the control unit 40 increases the rebound control amount of the front wheel suspension 10 and increases the compression control amount of the rear wheel suspension 20. Then, the stiffness of the springs 11, 21 increases (S71).

[0102] The suspension control amount (the rebound damping force of the front wheel suspension 10, the compression damping force of the rear wheel suspension 20, and the stiffness of the springs 11, 21) determined when the acceleration of the vehicle is equal to or greater than the reference acceleration may be greater than the suspension control amount (the rebound damping force of the front wheel suspension 10, the compression damping force of the rear wheel suspension 20, and the stiffness of the springs 11, 21) determined when the distance to the vehicle in front increases.

[0103] When the rebound control amount of the front wheel suspension 10 increases, the rebound damping force of the front wheel suspension 10 increases, and when the compression control amount of the rear wheel suspension 20 increases, the compression damping force of the rear wheel suspension 20 increases. In this case, the stiffness of the springs 11, 21 of the front wheel suspension 10 and the rear wheel suspension 20 also increases.

[0104] When the vehicle accelerates suddenly, there is a squat phenomenon (rear pitch movement) in which the front of the vehicle is lifted.

[0105] In this case, the control unit 40 actively performs suspension control to suppress the rear pitching motion. In other words, the stiffness of the springs 11, 21 of the front wheel suspension 10 and the rear wheel suspension 20 is increased to suppress the rear pitching motion, the compression damping force for suppressing the vibration in the direction of the front wheel spring 11 of the front wheel suspension 10 rebounding is increased, and the compression damping force for suppressing the vibration in the direction of the rear wheel spring 21 of the rear wheel suspension 20 compressing is increased (see Figure 3B ).

[0106] As described above, by actively performing suspension control based on the acceleration of the vehicle to suppress the rear pitch motion, when the rear pitch motion actually occurs, the rear pitch motion can be quickly suppressed.

[0107] When the vehicle is in a braking state, the control unit 40 determines whether the deceleration of the vehicle is equal to or greater than a reference deceleration (S80).

[0108] When the vehicle's deceleration is equal to or greater than the reference deceleration (ie, the vehicle is suddenly braked), the control unit 40 increases the compression control amount of the front wheel suspension 10 and increases the rebound control amount of the rear wheel suspension 20. Then, the stiffness of the springs 11, 21 increases (S81).

[0109] The suspension control amount (compression damping force of the front wheel suspension 10, rebound damping force of the rear wheel suspension 20, and the stiffness of the springs 11, 21) determined when the deceleration of the vehicle is equal to or greater than the reference deceleration may be greater than the suspension control amount (compression damping force of the front wheel suspension 10, rebound damping force of the rear wheel suspension 20, and the stiffness of the springs 11, 21) determined when the distance to the vehicle ahead decreases.

[0110] When the compression control amount of the front wheel suspension 10 increases, the compression damping force of the front wheel suspension 10 increases, and when the rebound control amount of the rear wheel suspension 20 increases, the rebound damping force of the rear wheel suspension 20 increases. In this case, the stiffness of the springs 11, 21 of the front wheel suspension 10 and the rear wheel suspension 20 also increases.

[0111] When the vehicle brakes suddenly, a dive phenomenon occurs in which the front portion of the vehicle dives forward (front pitch motion).

[0112] In this case, the control unit 40 actively performs suspension control to suppress the front pitching motion. In other words, the stiffness of the springs 11, 21 of the front wheel suspension 10 and the rear wheel suspension 20 is increased to suppress the front pitching motion, the compression damping force for suppressing the vibration in the direction of compression of the front wheel spring 11 of the front wheel suspension 10 is increased, and the rebound damping force for suppressing the vibration in the direction of rebound of the rear wheel spring 21 of the rear wheel suspension 20 is increased (see Figure 3A ).

[0113] In this way, by actively performing suspension control based on the deceleration of the vehicle to suppress the front pitch motion, when the front pitch motion actually occurs, the front pitch motion can be quickly suppressed.

[0114] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating a computing device according to an embodiment.

[0115] Reference now Figure 4 , the method of controlling a vehicle according to the present disclosure may be implemented by using the computing device 100 .

[0116] The computing device 100 may include at least one of a processor 110, a memory 130, a user interface input device 140, a user interface output device 150, and a storage device 160 that communicate via a bus 120. The computing device 100 may also include a network interface 170 that is electrically connected to a network 190. The network interface 170 may send or receive signals to or from other entities via the network 190.

[0117] The processor 110 may be implemented in various types, such as a microcontroller unit (MCU), an application processor (AP), a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a neural processing unit (NPU), etc., and may be a predetermined semiconductor device that executes commands stored in the memory 130 or the storage device 160. The processor 110 may be configured to implement the above-referenced Figure 1 The functions and methods described in Figure 3.

[0118] The memory 130 and the storage device 160 may include various forms of volatile or non-volatile storage media. For example, the memory may include a read-only memory (ROM) 131 and a random access memory (RAM) 132. In this embodiment, the memory 130 may be located inside or outside the processor 110, and the memory 130 may be connected to the processor 110 in various known ways.

[0119] In some embodiments, at least some configurations or functions of the vehicle component identification device and method according to the embodiments may be implemented as a program or software running on the computing device 100 , and the program or software may be stored on a computer-readable medium.

[0120] In some embodiments, at least some configurations or features of the vehicle component identification device and method according to the embodiments may be implemented using hardware or circuits of the computing device 100 , or may be implemented as separate hardware or circuits that may be electrically connected to the computing device 100 .

[0121] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and various modifications may be made within the scope of the claims, the specification of the present disclosure, and the drawings, which of course belong to the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising: A sensor unit, used for detecting driving information of the vehicle; A front wheel suspension and a rear wheel suspension, each of which is provided on the front wheel and the rear wheel of the vehicle, respectively, and each of which includes a spring and a damper; as well as A control unit for setting the sensitivity of the damping force for controlling the front wheel suspension and the rear wheel suspension based on the distance to the vehicle in front of the vehicle detected by the sensor unit when the driving mode of the vehicle is the automatic driving mode or the semi-automatic driving mode, and adjusting the damping force of the front wheel suspension and the rear wheel suspension according to the changing state of the distance to the vehicle in front and the acceleration state and deceleration state of the vehicle.

2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein: The driving information detected by the sensor unit includes a road surface condition, a distance to the preceding vehicle, an acceleration of the vehicle, and a deceleration of the vehicle.

3. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein: The control unit: When the distance to the preceding vehicle is less than a first reference distance, setting the sensitivity of the damping force for controlling the front wheel suspension and the rear wheel suspension to a first mode; When the distance to the preceding vehicle is equal to or greater than the first reference distance and less than a second reference distance, setting the sensitivity of the damping force for controlling the front wheel suspension and the rear wheel suspension to a second mode; as well as When the distance to the preceding vehicle is equal to or greater than the second reference distance, the sensitivity for controlling the damping force of the front wheel suspension and the rear wheel suspension is set to a third mode.

4. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein: When the distance to the vehicle ahead changes to a decreasing state, The control unit increases a compression damping force of a front wheel suspension of the front wheel, and increases a rebound damping force of a rear wheel suspension of the rear wheel.

5. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein: When the distance to the vehicle ahead is increasing, The control unit increases a rebound damping force of a front wheel suspension of the front wheel, and increases a compression damping force of a rear wheel suspension of the rear wheel.

6. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein: When the acceleration of the vehicle is equal to or greater than the reference acceleration, The control unit additionally increases a rebound damping force of a front wheel suspension of the front wheel, and additionally increases a compression damping force of a rear wheel suspension of the rear wheel.

7. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein: When the deceleration of the vehicle is equal to or greater than the reference deceleration, The control unit additionally increases a compression damping force of a front wheel suspension of the front wheel, and additionally increases a rebound damping force of a rear wheel suspension of the rear wheel.

8. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein: The control unit adjusts the sensitivity for controlling the damping force of the front wheel suspension and the damping force of the rear wheel suspension only when the flatness of the road surface condition of the front road detected by the sensor unit is equal to or greater than a reference flatness.

9. A method of controlling a vehicle, comprising: Determining, by a control unit, whether the vehicle is in an automatic driving state or a semi-automatic driving state; setting, by the control unit, a sensitivity for controlling a damping force of a suspension based on a distance to a preceding vehicle of the vehicle; adjusting the damping force of the suspension based on a change in the distance to the preceding vehicle by the control unit; as well as The damping force of the suspension is additionally adjusted by the control unit based on the acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: When setting the sensitivity for controlling the damping force of the suspension, When the distance to the preceding vehicle is less than a first reference distance, setting the sensitivity of the damping force for controlling the suspension to a first mode, When the distance to the preceding vehicle is equal to or greater than the first reference distance and less than a second reference distance, setting the sensitivity of the damping force for controlling the suspension to a second mode, and When the distance to the preceding vehicle is equal to or greater than the second reference distance, the sensitivity for controlling the damping force of the suspension is set to a third mode.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein: When the distance to the vehicle ahead changes to a decreasing state, The compression damping force of the suspension of the front wheels of the vehicle is increased, and the rebound damping force of the suspension of the rear wheels of the vehicle is increased.

12. The method according to claim 9, wherein: When the distance to the vehicle ahead is increasing, The rebound damping force of the suspension of the front wheels of the vehicle is increased, and the compression damping force of the suspension of the rear wheels of the vehicle is increased.

13. The method according to claim 9, wherein: When the acceleration of the vehicle is equal to or greater than the reference acceleration, The rebound damping force of the suspension of the front wheels of the vehicle is additionally increased, and the compression damping force of the suspension of the rear wheels of the vehicle is additionally increased.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein: When the deceleration of the vehicle is equal to or greater than the reference deceleration, The control unit additionally increases a compression damping force of a suspension of a front wheel of the vehicle, and additionally increases a rebound damping force of a suspension of a rear wheel of the vehicle.

15. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: determining, by the control unit, whether the flatness of the road ahead of the vehicle is equal to or greater than a reference flatness, Only when the flatness of the road ahead of the vehicle is equal to or greater than the reference flatness, the sensitivity for controlling the damping force of the suspension is set and the damping force of the suspension is adjusted.

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