Apparatus and method for controlling four-wheel independent steering vehicle

Abstract

Disclosed herein is an apparatus for controlling a four-wheel independent steering vehicle, the apparatus including: a sensor module; and a processor configured to, while parking using a CRAB mode of the four-wheel independent steering vehicle, determine whether to park the vehicle in consideration of at least one of an angle between the vehicle and the parking surface, a position and a shape of the parking surface, and a direction in which the vehicle enters the parking surface based on information detected by the sensor module. Parking is performed by selectively controlling the front wheel driving module and the rear wheel driving module.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Example embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to an apparatus and method for controlling a four-wheel independent steering vehicle in a lateral travel mode (or CRAB mode). Background Art

[0002] Recently, an in-wheel motor system is being studied in which motors are respectively embedded in four wheels of a vehicle and operate the four wheels independently.

[0003] The in-wheel motor system can be organically integrated with the vehicle to realize four-wheel independent drive and four-wheel independent steering systems, thereby providing more flexible and diverse driving performance.

[0004] The four-wheel independent steering vehicle includes a steering angle sensor for each steering device (eg, front wheel steering device, rear wheel steering device).

[0005] Conventional and ordinary vehicles change their driving direction by steering only the front wheels. Therefore, the driving direction of the vehicle is inconsistent with the driver's line of sight due to the different timings of the front and rear wheels generating lateral forces. However, in a four-wheel independent steering vehicle, the steering system is also applied to the rear wheels, thereby reducing the turning radius of the vehicle when the driver is parking or turning at low speed, and improving the driving stability when the driver changes the direction of the vehicle during high-speed driving of the vehicle.

[0006] In the driving mode of a four-wheel independent steering vehicle, Figure 1 As shown, the lateral driving mode (or CRAB mode) is a mode that allows the vehicle to drive laterally (i.e., 90 degrees to the front), which is convenient for parking in narrow spaces.

[0007] However, if Figure 2 As shown, the problem is: according to the angle between the vehicle and the parking surface (see Figure 2 (a) in the figure), the location and shape of the parking surface (e.g., curved road, main road, corner, etc.) (see Figure 2 (b) in the figure), and the direction (e.g., lateral and longitudinal) of the vehicle entering the parking surface (see Figure 2 (c)) in the above example, it is not possible to use Figure 1 Use the CRAB mode in the car to park ideally.

[0008] Therefore, a method is needed to individually control the lateral driving mode (or CRAB mode) of each steering device (e.g., front-wheel steering device, rear-wheel steering device) according to the angle between the vehicle and the parking surface, the position and shape of the parking surface, and the direction in which the vehicle enters the parking surface, so as to automatically perform safe and quick parking.

[0009] The background technology of the present disclosure is disclosed in Korean Patent No. 10-2274120 (registered on July 1, 2021, and named "APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING REARWHEEL STEERING SYSTEM"). Summary of the invention

[0010] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, various embodiments are intended to provide a device and method for controlling a four-wheel independent steering vehicle, which is capable of individually controlling a lateral driving mode (or CRAB mode) for each steering device of the four-wheel independent steering vehicle to allow the vehicle to automatically park safely and quickly in various parking situations.

[0011] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a device for controlling a four-wheel independent steering vehicle is provided, the device comprising: a sensor module; and a processor, configured to: when parking in a CRAB mode using the four-wheel independent steering vehicle, based on information detected by the sensor module, consider at least one of the angle between the vehicle and the parking surface, the position and shape of the parking surface, and the direction in which the vehicle enters the parking surface, and park by selectively controlling a front-wheel drive module and a rear-wheel drive module.

[0012] In an embodiment, the processor may check whether the parking surface is available for lateral or longitudinal parking based on information detected by the sensor module.

[0013] In an embodiment, when the parking surface is available for transverse parking, the processor may check whether the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the parking surface or the long side of the rectangle marking the parking surface.

[0014] In an embodiment, when the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is not parallel to the longitudinal direction of the parking surface, the processor can control the drive modules in the front-wheel drive module and the rear-wheel drive module that drive the wheels farther away from the long side of the parking surface according to the prescribed settings to allow the drive modules to approach the parking surface so that the longitudinal direction of the vehicle becomes parallel to the longitudinal direction of the parking surface.

[0015] In an embodiment, when the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is not parallel to the longitudinal direction of the parking surface, the processor can control the drive modules in the front-wheel drive module and the rear-wheel drive module that drive the wheels that are closer to the long side of the parking surface according to the prescribed settings to allow the drive modules to move away from the parking surface so that the longitudinal direction of the vehicle becomes parallel to the longitudinal direction of the parking surface.

[0016] In an embodiment, when the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the parking surface, the processor may simultaneously control the front wheel drive module and the rear wheel drive module in the CRAB mode to move the vehicle in a lateral direction to park the vehicle on the parking surface.

[0017] In an embodiment, when the parking surface is available for longitudinal parking, the processor may check whether the angle of the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is the same as the angle of the longitudinal direction of the parking surface or the angle of the long side of the rectangle marking the parking surface.

[0018] In an embodiment, when the longitudinal angle of the vehicle is different from the longitudinal angle of the parking surface or the angle of the long side of the rectangle marking the parking surface, the processor can control the front-wheel drive module and the rear-wheel drive module in opposite directions to rotate the vehicle so that the longitudinal angle of the parking surface is the same as the longitudinal angle of the vehicle.

[0019] In an embodiment, when the longitudinal angle of the vehicle becomes the same as the longitudinal angle of the parking surface or the angle of the long side of the rectangle marking the parking surface, the processor can simultaneously control the front-wheel drive module and the rear-wheel drive module in the CRAB mode to move the vehicle laterally within the range that the vehicle can enter the parking surface, and then move the vehicle longitudinally onto the parking surface to park the vehicle.

[0020] According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for controlling a four-wheel independent steering vehicle is provided, the method may include: a processor detecting the longitudinal angle of a parking surface and the longitudinal angle of a vehicle through a sensor module when parking using a CRAB mode of the four-wheel independent steering vehicle; and the processor considering at least one of the angle between the vehicle and the parking surface, the position and shape of the parking surface, and the direction in which the vehicle enters the parking surface, and parking by selectively controlling a front-wheel drive module and a rear-wheel drive module based on the information detected by the sensor module.

[0021] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a lateral travel mode (or CRAB mode) is individually controlled for each steering device of a four-wheel independent steering vehicle to allow the vehicle to automatically park safely and quickly in various parking situations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 is an example diagram for describing an ideal parking method using the CRAB mode of a four-wheel independent steering vehicle.

[0023] Figure 2 is an example diagram for describing a parking situation in which an ideal parking cannot be performed using the CRAB mode of a four-wheel independent steering vehicle.

[0024] Figure 3 is an exemplary diagram showing a schematic configuration of an apparatus for controlling a four-wheel independent steering vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0025] Figure 4 is a flowchart exemplarily describing a method for controlling a four-wheel independent steering vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0026] Figure 5 is used to describe the Figure 4 An example diagram of a lateral parking maneuver performed using the CRAB mode of each steering device of a four-wheel independent steering vehicle.

[0027] Figure 6 is used to describe the Figure 4 An example diagram of a longitudinal parking maneuver performed using the CRAB mode of each steering device of a four-wheel independent steering vehicle.

[0028] Figure 7 To describe the Figure 4 An example diagram showing the operation of displaying the target steering angle and the target steering trajectory on the surround view screen during parking in the CRAB mode in FIG.

[0029] Figures 8 to 11 is used to describe Figure 5 An example diagram of a method for calculating a target point for each front and rear wheel during lateral parking in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The components described in the example embodiments may be implemented by hardware components, including, for example, at least one digital signal processor (DSP), a processor, a controller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic element (such as an FPGA), other electronic devices, or a combination thereof. At least some of the functions or processes described in the example embodiments may be implemented by software, and the software may be recorded on a recording medium. The components, functions, and processes described in the example embodiments may be implemented by a combination of hardware and software.

[0031] The method according to the example embodiment may be embodied as a program executable by a computer and may be implemented as various recording media such as a magnetic storage medium, an optical reading medium, and a digital storage medium.

[0032] Various techniques described herein can be implemented as digital electronic circuits, or computer hardware, firmware, software or a combination thereof. These techniques can be implemented as computer program products, i.e., computer programs tangibly embodied in information carriers, information carriers such as machine-readable storage devices (e.g., computer-readable media) or propagation signals, computer programs for being executed by data processing devices or for controlling the operation of data processing devices, data processing devices such as programmable processors, computers or multiple computers. Computer programs can be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and can be deployed in any form, including independent programs or modules, components, subroutines or other units suitable for use in a computing environment. Computer programs can be deployed to be executed on a computer, or executed on multiple computers located in a location, or executed on multiple computers distributed in multiple locations and interconnected by a communication network.

[0033] For example, processors suitable for executing computer programs include general and special microprocessors, and any one or more processors of any type of digital computer. Typically, the processor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory or a random access memory or both. The elements of a computer may include at least one processor for executing instructions and one or more storage devices for storing instructions and data. Typically, the computer will also include or be coupled to one or more mass storage devices (such as magnetic disks, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks), receive data from it, transfer data to it, or perform both on it to store data. Examples of information carriers suitable for embodying computer program instructions and data include semiconductor memory devices, such as magnetic media (such as hard disks, floppy disks, and tapes), optical media (such as compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital video disks (DVD), etc.), and magneto-optical media (such as floppy disks, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), flash memory, erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), and electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM)) and any other known computer-readable media. The processor and memory can be supplemented by or integrated into a dedicated logic circuit.

[0034] The processor can run an operating system (OS) and one or more software applications running on the OS. The processor device can also access, store, manipulate, process, and create data in response to the execution of the software. For simplicity, the description of the processor device is used as a singular; however, those skilled in the art will understand that the processor device may include multiple processing elements and / or multiple types of processing elements. For example, the processor device may include multiple processors, or a processor and a controller. In addition, different processing configurations are also possible, such as parallel processors.

[0035] Furthermore, non-transitory computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer and can include both computer storage media and transmission media.

[0036] This specification includes details of multiple specific embodiments, but it should be understood that these details do not limit any invention or what may be claimed in the specification, but rather describe features of specific example embodiments. Features described in the specification in the context of various example embodiments may be implemented as combinations in a single example embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the specification in the context of a single example embodiment may be implemented in multiple example embodiments individually or in appropriate sub-combinations. In addition, these features may operate in a particular combination and may initially be described as claimed in the combination, but in some cases, one or more features may be excluded from the claimed combination, and the claimed combination may be changed to a sub-combination or a modification of the sub-combination.

[0037] Similarly, although the operations are described in a particular order in the drawings, it should not be understood that the operations need to be performed in a particular order or sequentially to obtain the desired results, or that all operations need to be performed. In certain cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. In addition, it should not be understood that the various device components in the above-mentioned example embodiments need to be separated in all example embodiments, and it should be understood that the above-mentioned program components and devices can be combined into a single software product, or can also be packaged in multiple software products.

[0038] It should be understood that the example embodiments disclosed herein are merely exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made to the example embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims and their equivalents.

[0039] The embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily implement the present disclosure. However, the present disclosure can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein.

[0040] In the following description of the embodiments of the present disclosure, when a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein may make the subject matter of the present disclosure unclear, the detailed description will be omitted. Parts of the drawings that are not related to the description of the present disclosure are omitted, and similar parts are represented by similar reference numerals.

[0041] In the present disclosure, components that are distinguished from each other are intended to clearly illustrate each feature. However, this does not necessarily mean that these components are separate. That is, multiple components can be integrated into one hardware or software unit, or a single component can be distributed into multiple hardware or software units. Therefore, unless otherwise stated, such integrated or distributed embodiments are also included in the scope of the present disclosure.

[0042] In the present disclosure, the components described in the various embodiments are not necessarily necessary components, and some components may be optional components. Therefore, an embodiment consisting of a subset of the components described in an embodiment is also included in the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, embodiments that include other components in addition to the components described in the various embodiments are also included in the scope of the present disclosure.

[0043] The embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily implement the present disclosure. However, the present disclosure can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein.

[0044] In the following description of the embodiments of the present disclosure, when a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein may make the subject matter of the present disclosure unclear, the detailed description will be omitted. Parts of the drawings that are not related to the description of the present disclosure are omitted, and similar parts are represented by similar reference numerals.

[0045] In the present disclosure, when a component is referred to as being "linked", "coupled" or "connected" to another component, it should be understood that not only a direct connection relationship but also an indirect connection relationship through an intermediate component may be included. In addition, when a component is referred to as "including" or "having" another component, it may mean that the component also includes the other component rather than excluding the other component, unless explicitly described to the contrary.

[0046] In the present disclosure, the terms first, second, etc. are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another component, and do not limit the order or importance of the components, etc., unless otherwise specifically stated. Therefore, within the scope of the present disclosure, a first component in an exemplary embodiment may be referred to as a second component in another embodiment, and similarly, a second component in an exemplary embodiment may be referred to as a first component.

[0047] In the present disclosure, components that are distinguished from each other are intended to clearly illustrate each feature. However, this does not necessarily mean that these components are separate. That is, multiple components can be integrated into one hardware or software unit, or a single component can be distributed into multiple hardware or software units. Therefore, unless otherwise stated, such integrated or distributed embodiments are also included in the scope of the present disclosure.

[0048] In the present disclosure, the components described in the various embodiments are not necessarily necessary components, and some components may be optional components. Therefore, an embodiment consisting of a subset of the components described in one embodiment is also included in the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, example embodiments including other components in addition to the components described in the various embodiments are also included in the scope of the present disclosure.

[0049] Hereinafter, an apparatus and method for controlling a four-wheel independent steering vehicle are described through various exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0050] Figure 3 is an exemplary diagram showing a schematic configuration of an apparatus for controlling a four-wheel independent steering vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0051] like Figure 3 As shown, the apparatus for controlling a four-wheel independent steering vehicle according to this embodiment includes a sensor module 110 , a storage module 120 , a processor 130 , a front-wheel drive module 140 , and a rear-wheel drive module 150 .

[0052] The sensor module 110 may include a current sensor (ie, a current detection sensor) and a steering angle sensor (ie, a steering angle detection sensor).

[0053] In addition, the sensor module 110 may include a camera (image sensor) for checking a parking surface (parking space).

[0054] In addition, the sensor module 110 may include an ultrasonic sensor or an infrared sensor to measure a distance (or length).

[0055] In addition, the sensor module 110 may include wheel speed sensors respectively included in the front wheels and the rear wheels, and an acceleration sensor for detecting acceleration of the vehicle.

[0056] The processor 130 may use a steering angle sensor to measure the steering angle velocity.

[0057] In addition, the processor 130 may control the steering angles of the front and rear wheels.

[0058] The storage module 120 may store algorithms for controlling the steering angles of the front and rear wheels by the processor 130, and may store algorithms for controlling the lateral driving mode (or CRAB mode) separately for each steering device of a four-wheel independent steering vehicle by the processor 130 to perform safe and quick parking in various parking situations.

[0059] In this case, the memory module 120 and the processor 130 may each be implemented as a separate chip, or as a single chip including the memory module 120 inside the processor 130 .

[0060] The storage module 120 can be implemented as at least one of the following: a non-volatile memory element (such as a cache, a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), and a flash memory), a volatile memory element (such as a random access memory (RAM)), or a storage medium (such as a hard disk drive (HDD) and a CD-ROM), but is not limited thereto.

[0061] In addition, the processor 130 may be implemented as an electronic control unit (ECU) that controls driving of the vehicle.

[0062] The front wheel drive module 140 is connected to the front wheels FW1 and FW2 and can drive actuators of the front wheels FW1 and FW2 respectively according to the control of the processor 130 (e.g., actuators that adjust the rotation direction, speed and steering angle of the front wheels through motors or hydraulics).

[0063] The front wheel drive module 140 may be included in the processor 130 .

[0064] The rear wheel drive module 150 is connected to the rear wheels RW1 and RW2 and can drive actuators of the rear wheels RW1 and RW2 respectively according to the control of the processor 130 (e.g., actuators that adjust the rotation direction, speed and steering angle of the rear wheels through motors or hydraulics).

[0065] The rear wheel drive module 150 may be included in the processor 130 .

[0066] The processor 130 controls the front wheel drive module 140 and the rear wheel drive module 150 to control the steering angles of the front wheels and the rear wheels to be the same as or different from each other.

[0067] During parking in CRAB mode, the processor 130 may display the target steering angle and target steering trajectory on the surround view screen (see FIG. Figure 7 ).

[0068] Next, a specific operation of the processor 130 will be described.

[0069] Figure 4 It is a flowchart for exemplarily describing a control method for a four-wheel independent steering vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and is a flowchart for describing the following method: the CRAB mode of each steering device of the four-wheel independent steering vehicle is controlled individually, so that safe and fast parking can be automatically performed in various parking situations.

[0070] Figure 5 is used to describe the Figure 4An example diagram of a lateral parking operation performed using the CRAB mode of each steering device of a four-wheel independent steering vehicle, and Figure 6 is used to describe the Figure 4 An example diagram of a longitudinal parking maneuver performed using the CRAB mode of each steering device of a four-wheel independent steering vehicle.

[0071] Reference Figure 4 , when parking starts in the CRAB mode, the processor 130 checks whether a parking surface (or parking space) is available for transverse (or longitudinal) parking (S101).

[0072] For example, when there is an available parking space, the processor 130 can check whether the length of the parking surface (or parking space) is greater than the length of the vehicle (i.e., horizontal parking is possible) based on the information about the parking surface (or parking space) measured by the sensor module 110, or whether the length of the parking surface (or parking space) is less than the length of the vehicle but greater than the width of the vehicle (i.e., longitudinal parking is possible).

[0073] When the result of the check in S101 is that the parking surface (or parking space) is available for transverse parking (Yes in S101), the processor 130 checks whether the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the parking surface (or the long side of the rectangle marking the parking surface) (S102).

[0074] When the result of the check in S102 is that the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is not parallel to the longitudinal direction of the parking surface (No in S102) (see Figure 5 In (a)), the processor 130 controls the steering device (i.e., the drive module) of the wheel farther from the long side of the parking surface in the front / rear wheel steering device (i.e., the front wheel drive module 140 or the rear wheel drive module 150) to approach the parking surface (S103).

[0075] For example, refer to Figure 5 In (b), since the wheel farther from the long side of the parking surface is the rear wheel, the processor 130 can control the rear wheel drive module 150 to allow the rear wheel to partially approach the parking surface so as to ensure that the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the parking surface. Figure 5 In (c), since the wheels farther from the long side of the parking surface are the front wheels, the processor 130 can control the front wheel drive module 140 to allow the front wheels to partially approach the parking surface to ensure that the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the parking surface.

[0076] Meanwhile, although not shown in the drawings, the steering device (ie, the driving module) of the wheel closer to the long side of the parking surface may be controlled to move away from the parking surface. Figure 5In (b), since the wheel closer to the long side of the parking surface is the front wheel, the processor 130 can control the front wheel drive module 140 to allow the front wheel to partially move away from the parking surface so as to ensure that the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the parking surface. Figure 5 In (c), since the wheels closer to the long side of the parking surface are rear wheels, the processor 130 can control the rear wheel drive module 140 to allow the rear wheels to partially move away from the parking surface to ensure that the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the parking surface.

[0077] In this case, by controlling one of the front / rear wheel steering devices (ie, the front wheel drive module 140 or the rear wheel drive module 150), processes S102 and S103 of allowing the longitudinal direction of the vehicle to be parallel to the longitudinal direction of the parking surface may be repeatedly performed.

[0078] Therefore, when the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the parking surface (Yes in S102), the processor 130 can simultaneously control the front-wheel / rear-wheel steering device (i.e., the front-wheel drive module 140 or the rear-wheel drive module 150) to move the vehicle in the lateral direction onto the parking surface to park the vehicle (S104) (see Figure 5 (d) in the figure.

[0079] That is, as mentioned above Figure 1 As shown, lateral parking can be achieved by using the ideal parking method of the CRAB mode of a four-wheel independent steering vehicle.

[0080] At the same time, when the result of the check in S101 is that the parking surface (or parking space) can be used for longitudinal parking (No in S101), the processor 130 checks whether the longitudinal angle of the vehicle and the longitudinal angle of the parking surface (or the angle of the long side of the rectangle marking the parking surface) are the same within a specified error range (S105).

[0081] When the result of the check in S102 is that the longitudinal angle of the vehicle and the longitudinal angle of the parking surface (or the angle of the long side of the rectangle marking the parking surface) are not the same within the prescribed error range ("No" in S105) (see Figure 6 In (a)), the processor 130 controls the front-wheel / rear-wheel steering device (i.e., the front-wheel drive module 140 or the rear-wheel drive module 150) in opposite directions to rotate the vehicle so that the longitudinal angle of the parking surface is the same as the longitudinal angle of the vehicle within a specified error range (S106).

[0082] For example, refer to Figure 6 In (b), the front wheels of the vehicle are controlled in a direction away from the long side of the parking surface (e.g., to the left), and the rear wheels of the vehicle are controlled in a direction close to the long side of the parking surface (e.g., to the right) to rotate the vehicle. In this case, the rotation direction is not limited, and the front and rear wheels of the vehicle can be controlled in opposite directions.

[0083] In this case, the front / rear wheel steering devices (i.e., the front wheel drive module 140 or the rear wheel drive module 150) can be controlled in opposite directions to each other, and the processes S105 and S106 of rotating the vehicle can be repeated so that the longitudinal angle of the parking surface is the same as the longitudinal angle of the vehicle within a specified error range.

[0084] Therefore, when the longitudinal angle of the parking surface and the longitudinal angle of the vehicle become the same within the prescribed error range (Yes in S105), the processor 130 can simultaneously control the front / rear wheel steering device (i.e., the front wheel drive module 140 or the rear wheel drive module 150) to move the vehicle in the lateral direction within the range of the parking surface (see Figure 6 Then, the vehicle is moved longitudinally onto the parking surface to park the vehicle (S107) (see Figure 6 (d) in the figure.

[0085] For reference, in this embodiment, the longitudinal angle of the parking surface and the longitudinal angle of the vehicle being the same within a specified error range means that only the longitudinal angles are the same before the vehicle is parked on the parking surface. Therefore, in order to park the vehicle on the parking surface, it is necessary to move the vehicle laterally within the range of the parking surface without being disturbed by surrounding obstacles (see Figure 6 (c) in the figure.

[0086] Figure 7 To describe the Figure 4 An example diagram showing the operation of displaying the target steering angle and the target steering trajectory on the surround view screen during parking in the CRAB mode in FIG.

[0087] The processor 130 can identify and calculate the distance to surrounding structures based on the information measured by the sensor module 110, and output a surround-view screen through a display device (not shown) provided in the vehicle, and can calculate and display through the surround-view screen the distance to surrounding structures and other target control values ​​required for parking (for example, the target steering angle of the front wheels or rear wheels, the target steering trajectory of the front wheels or rear wheels, etc.), and can display whether parking is possible based on the calculation results.

[0088] In addition, the processor 130 identifies the vehicle and the surrounding environment in real time, and displays the target steering angle and target steering trajectory on the surround screen, thereby supporting intuitive and easy operation (parking), and guiding the user through the parking operation process, giving the user a sense of convenience and stability.

[0089] Therefore, the processor 130 can output guidance information through the surround screen to support the parking assist function and guide whether the parking assist function is supported (i.e., whether the vehicle requires manual parking), and can also output guidance about the target point and route, whether there is interference with surrounding structures, and safety results, etc.

[0090] When a driver is present, the processor 130 can use the assist function to control the accelerator pedal and the decelerator pedal to support driving (parking), and in the case of unmanned parking, it can support the automatic control function of calculating the target point for each wheel (i.e., front and rear wheels) and supporting deceleration and acceleration.

[0091] Figures 8 to 11 is used to describe Figure 5 An example diagram of a method for calculating a target point for each front wheel and rear wheel during lateral parking in FIG. However, the calculation method is exemplary and is not intended to be limiting.

[0092] exist Figure 8 In the process, the processor 130 checks whether y is satisfied. r <0+l s .

[0093] Here, V f (x f ,y f ) is the front wheel coordinate, V r (x r ,y r ) is the rear wheel coordinate, l s is a safety distance calculated as 0.5, and L represents the length of the vehicle, and based on this, the processor 130 checks whether there is interference with lateral parking driving (ie, parallel parking), and when l s When (safety distance) is 0.5 or less, cooperative control of driving and braking is activated.

[0094] In addition, the processor 130 checks whether

[0095] C s is the safety factor, calculated as 1.2, and the processor 130 calculates the front V f With structure (O f ,O r ) and checks whether the distance is equal to or greater than the value obtained by multiplying the vehicle wheelbase by the safety factor.

[0096] Reference Fig. 9 , the processor 130 calculates the target point (y r,t ).

[0097] here,

[0098] The processor 130 displays the target point on the surround screen, and in the CRAB mode, all four wheels can maintain an angle of 90 degrees. However, the processor 130 can generate additional steering movement through driving and perform cooperative control of driving and steering. In addition, the processor 130 can move (change) the target point to correspond to the driver's acceleration / deceleration operation.

[0099] Reference Fig.10 , the processor 130 performs calculations and checks the rear of the vehicle V r With structure (O f ,O r ) between them.

[0100] The processor 130 checks whether

[0101] The processor 130 is based on y r The current reference is used to calculate the target point (y f,t ).

[0102] Here, y f,t =y r +L.

[0103] The processor 130 displays the target point on the surround screen, and in the CRAB mode, all four wheels can maintain an angle of 90 degrees. However, the processor 130 can generate additional steering movement through driving and perform cooperative control of driving and steering. In addition, the processor 130 can move (change) the target point to correspond to the driver's acceleration / deceleration operation.

[0104] Reference Fig.11 , the processor 130 can assist the driver's acceleration / deceleration operation or automatically move the vehicle laterally to park the vehicle in a parking space (parking surface).

[0105] As described above, the present disclosure can individually control the lateral driving mode (or CRAB mode) for each steering device of a four-wheel independent steering vehicle to assist the driver in accelerating and decelerating operations in various parking situations, or allow the vehicle to automatically park safely and quickly.

Claims

1. A device for controlling a four-wheel independent steering vehicle, the device comprising: Sensor module; as well as The processor is configured to: when parking using the CRAB mode of the four-wheel independent steering vehicle, park by selectively controlling the front-wheel drive module and the rear-wheel drive module based on information detected by the sensor module, taking into account at least one of the angle between the vehicle and the parking surface, the position and shape of the parking surface, and the direction in which the vehicle enters the parking surface.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The processor checks whether the parking surface is available for transverse or longitudinal parking based on information detected by the sensor module.

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein: When the parking surface is available for transverse parking, the processor checks whether the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the parking surface or to the long side of a rectangle marking the parking surface.

4. The device according to claim 3, wherein: When the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is not parallel to the longitudinal direction of the parking surface, the processor controls the drive modules of the front-wheel drive module and the rear-wheel drive module that drive the wheels farther away from the long side of the parking surface according to the prescribed settings to allow the drive modules to approach the parking surface so that the longitudinal direction of the vehicle becomes parallel to the longitudinal direction of the parking surface.

5. The device according to claim 3, wherein: When the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is not parallel to the longitudinal direction of the parking surface, the processor controls the drive modules of the front-wheel drive module and the rear-wheel drive module that drive the wheels that are closer to the long side of the parking surface according to the prescribed settings to allow the drive modules to move away from the parking surface so that the longitudinal direction of the vehicle becomes parallel to the longitudinal direction of the parking surface.

6. The device according to claim 4, wherein: When the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the parking surface, the processor simultaneously controls the front wheel drive module and the rear wheel drive module in the CRAB mode to move the vehicle in a lateral direction to park the vehicle on the parking surface.

7. The device according to claim 2, wherein: When the parking surface is available for longitudinal parking, the processor checks whether the angle of the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is the same as the angle of the longitudinal direction of the parking surface or the angle of the long side of a rectangle marking the parking surface.

8. The device according to claim 7, wherein: When the longitudinal angle of the vehicle is different from the longitudinal angle of the parking surface or the angle of the long side of the rectangle marking the parking surface, the processor controls the front-wheel drive module and the rear-wheel drive module in opposite directions to rotate the vehicle so that the longitudinal angle of the parking surface is the same as the longitudinal angle of the vehicle.

9. The device according to claim 8, wherein: When the longitudinal angle of the vehicle becomes the same as the longitudinal angle of the parking surface or the angle of the long side of the rectangle marking the parking surface, the processor simultaneously controls the front-wheel drive module and the rear-wheel drive module in the CRAB mode to move the vehicle laterally within a range in which the vehicle can enter the parking surface, and then moves the vehicle longitudinally onto the parking surface to park the vehicle.

10. A method for controlling a four-wheel independent steering vehicle, the method comprising: The processor detects the longitudinal angle of the parking surface and the longitudinal angle of the vehicle through the sensor module when parking using the CRAB mode of the four-wheel independent steering vehicle; as well as The processor considers at least one of an angle between the vehicle and the parking surface, a position and a shape of the parking surface, and a direction in which the vehicle enters the parking surface, and performs parking by selectively controlling a front-wheel drive module and a rear-wheel drive module based on information detected by the sensor module.

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