Intelligent fender and control method thereof

Abstract

The invention relates to an intelligent mudguard and a control method thereof. The intelligent mudguard comprises a mudguard body, a rainwater sensor, a driving mechanism and a control mechanism. When the rainfall weather starts, the control mechanism controls the driving mechanism to act according to a rainwater signal and controls the fender body to move relative to the position of the tire so as to prevent rainwater or muddy water from splashing, but when the rainfall weather ends, the situation that no water is accumulated on most of the road surface and a small part of the road surface is accumulated on the road can occur. At the moment, a vehicle AR navigation system can be linked, the fender body is stretched in advance before the vehicle runs to a waterlogged or muddy road surface, the fender body is retracted when the vehicle runs to a waterlogged-free road surface, an automatic control mode of the fender is achieved, and meanwhile the technical problem that an existing fender is limited in stretching and retracting direction and amplitude is solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of intelligent control of fenders, and particularly to an intelligent fender and a control method thereof. Background Art

[0002] A fender is an important part of an automobile body. Its main function is to prevent mud, water and other sundries from splashing onto the vehicle body or passengers, thereby keeping the vehicle body clean and beautiful. When driving in rainy days or under bad road conditions, the fender can prevent muddy water from splashing onto the vehicle body surface and avoid scratching or wearing of the vehicle body. At the same time, the fender can also reduce the rolling of sundries such as gravel on the road to the tires, reducing noise and damage risks.

[0003] In related technologies, there are fixed fenders and those with telescopic functions. However, the telescopic direction and amplitude are limited, the use is relatively restricted, and the intelligence level is not high. In addition, vehicles such as golf carts, sightseeing cars, and shared cars have relatively low requirements for the use environment of fenders and mainly pursue the beauty of the vehicle. Therefore, a retractable intelligent fender is needed. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To solve the deficiencies in the background art, the present invention provides an intelligent fender and a control method thereof.

[0005] In the first aspect of the present invention, an intelligent fender is provided.

[0006] An intelligent fender includes: a fender body; a rain sensor for obtaining a rain signal; a driving mechanism for controlling the movement of the fender body relative to the tire position; and a control mechanism for controlling the driving mechanism to act according to the rain signal.

[0007] In some embodiments, the driving mechanism is an electric push rod for pushing the fender body to move relative to the tire position.

[0008] Further, the fender body is in an arc structure, the electric push rod is arranged on the vehicle chassis, and the moving direction of the fender body is parallel to the tire axis direction.

[0009] In some embodiments, the rain sensor includes a probe and a main board controller. The probe is used to detect the rain signal, and the main board controller is used to transmit the rain signal to the control mechanism.

[0010] Further, the probe is arranged at a position on the vehicle chassis that is prone to getting wet. Preferably, the probe is arranged inside the fender body near the vehicle head.

[0011] In this embodiment, since the probe is arranged between the inner side of the fender near the vehicle head and the tire, when it rains during driving, the water splashed by the rotating tire will attach to the probe immediately, enabling the rain weather to be judged as soon as possible and controlling the movement of the fender body to extend to a preset position.

[0012] In some embodiments, the main board controller includes a telescopic control button for actively controlling the telescopic movement of the electric push rod when needed.

[0013] In this embodiment, if the timing of the extension or retraction of the fender body is inappropriate, the telescopic control button can be used to manually control the telescopic movement of the electric push rod.

[0014] In some embodiments, the intelligent fender further includes a signal transmission mechanism for communicating with the vehicle AR navigation system and receiving the automatic control signal of the fender body issued by the vehicle AR navigation system; the automatic control signal of the fender body is used to drive the fender body to extend towards the tire direction before the vehicle AR navigation system determines that the vehicle enters a waterlogged or muddy road surface, and retract after the vehicle leaves the waterlogged or muddy road surface.

[0015] In this embodiment, the problem of using the fender in different scenarios can be solved. After the start of rainy weather, the control mechanism controls the driving mechanism to act according to the rain signal, and controls the relative position movement of the fender body with respect to the tire to prevent rain or mud from splashing. However, after the end of rainy weather, there will be a situation where most of the road surface has no water accumulation and a small part of the road surface has water accumulation. At this time, the vehicle AR navigation system can be linked, and the fender body can be extended in advance before driving to a waterlogged or muddy road surface, and the fender body can be retracted when driving to a road surface without water accumulation, realizing the automatic control mode of the fender.

[0016] In a second aspect, a control method for an intelligent fender is provided, and the control method includes the following steps:

[0017] Obtain the rain signal;

[0018] Control the driving mechanism to act according to the rain signal;

[0019] Based on the action signal of the driving mechanism, control the relative position movement of the fender body with respect to the tire;

[0020] Based on the control signal of the telescopic control button, control the driving mechanism to act;

[0021] In response to the automatic control signal of the fender issued by the vehicle AR navigation system, the fender body enters the automatic mode. In this mode, the automatic extension or retraction of the fender body is controlled.

[0022] The beneficial effects brought by the technical solution provided by the present invention include:

[0023] An embodiment of the present invention provides an intelligent mudguard and its control method. After the start of rainy weather, the control mechanism controls the driving mechanism to act according to the rain signal, and controls the mudguard body to move relative to the position of the tire to prevent rainwater or muddy water from splashing. However, after the rainy weather ends, there will be a situation where most of the road surface has no water accumulation and a small part of the road surface has water accumulation. At this time, the vehicle AR navigation system can be linked to extend the mudguard body in advance before driving onto the waterlogged or muddy road surface, and retract the mudguard body when driving onto the road surface without water accumulation, realizing the automatic control mode of the mudguard, and at the same time solving the technical problem that the telescopic direction and amplitude of the existing mudguard are limited. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for the description of the embodiments. Obviously, the following drawings are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings.

[0025] Figure 1 It is a system schematic diagram of the intelligent mudguard provided by the embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 2 It is a flowchart of the intelligent mudguard control method provided by the embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 3 It is a structural schematic diagram of the intelligent mudguard provided by the embodiment of the present invention (in the figure, (a) is the retracted state and (b) is the extended state).

[0028] Figure 4 It is another structural schematic diagram of the intelligent mudguard provided by the embodiment of the present invention (in the figure, (a) is the retracted state and (b) is the extended state).

[0029] Figure 5 For Figure 4 a schematic diagram of a position of the rope passing point of the vehicle body on the vehicle body in

[0030] In the figure: 1, probe; 2, main board controller; 3, DC 12V relay; 4, electric push rod; 5, mudguard body; 6, DC converter; 7, tire; 8, pulling rope; 9, vehicle body rope passing point; 10, rope guiding part; 11, mudguard sub-board. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0031] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Apparently, the described embodiments are some, but not all, of the embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0032] Embodiment 1

[0033] Refer to Figure 1 、 Figure 2 and Figure 3 An intelligent mudguard is provided in an embodiment of the present invention, which includes: a mudguard body 5; a rain sensor for obtaining a rain signal; a driving mechanism for controlling the movement of the mudguard body relative to a tire 7; and a control mechanism for controlling the driving mechanism to act according to the rain signal.

[0034] Preferably, the mudguard body 5 is made of an aluminum plate material with a thickness of 0.5 mm or a high-strength plastic to balance the strength of the mudguard body and the problem of rusting.

[0035] In this embodiment, the driving mechanism is an electric push rod 4 for pushing the mudguard body 5 to move relative to the tire 7. Preferably, the model of the electric push rod 4 is LSTN-A.

[0036] Further, the mudguard body 5 is in an arc structure. The electric push rod 4 is arranged on the vehicle chassis. The moving direction of the mudguard body 5 is parallel to the axis direction of the tire 7. The electric push rod 4 can drive the mudguard body 5 to extend to a position close to the tire 7 to cover a larger tire area, or drive the mudguard body 5 to retract to a position away from the tire 7 to hide a larger area of itself. The former is to prevent mud and water from splashing onto the vehicle body in special weather or road conditions, and the latter is for the aesthetic appearance of the vehicle body in normal times.

[0037] In some embodiments, the rain sensor includes a probe 1 and a main board controller 2. The probe 1 is used to detect the rain signal, and the main board controller 2 is used to transmit the rain signal to the control mechanism.

[0038] Further, the probe 1 is arranged at a position on the vehicle chassis that is prone to getting wet. Preferably, the probe 1 is arranged inside the mudguard body near the front of the vehicle. The main board controller 2 is arranged inside the vehicle compartment. Preferably, the main board controller 2 is arranged in a concealed manner.

[0039] Through this embodiment, since the probe is arranged between the inner side of the fender body near the vehicle head and the tire, when it rains during driving, the water splashed by the rotating tire will adhere to the probe immediately, enabling the rain weather to be judged as soon as possible and controlling the movement of the fender body to extend to a preset position.

[0040] In some embodiments, the main board controller 2 includes a telescopic control button for actively controlling the telescopic movement of the electric push rod 4 when needed.

[0041] Through this embodiment, if the timing of the extension or retraction of the fender body is inappropriate, the telescopic control button can be used to manually control the movement of the electric push rod 4 to meet the requirements under actual road conditions.

[0042] In some embodiments, the intelligent fender further includes a DC converter 6 for providing 12V power supply for the probe 1, the main board controller 2, and the DC 12V relay 3.

[0043] In some embodiments, the control mechanism is a DC 12V relay 3. Preferably, the model of the DC 12V relay 3 is JQX-30F / 2Z 30A 8-pin high-power relay. Among them, pins 1 and 2 of the relay 3 are normally idle pins, pins 3 and 4 of the relay are connected to the electric push rod 4, pins 5 and 6 of the relay 3 are connected to the 12V power supply of the DC converter 6, and pins 7 and 8 of the relay 3 are coil pins for receiving the electrical signal of the active controller 2. When receiving the electrical signal, pins 3 and 4 of the relay 3 are closed and conduct, and the electric push rod 4 starts to work. If the positive pole of the electric push rod 4 is connected to the positive pole of the power supply, then the electric push rod 4 conducts forward and works, and the fender body extends; if the negative pole of the flashlight push rod 4 is connected to the positive pole of the power supply, then the electric push rod 4 conducts reversely and works, and the fender body retracts.

[0044] As Figure 3 shown, in some embodiments, the fender body 5 is connected to the movable end of the electric push rod 4 through an intermediate connecting piece.

[0045] The working principle of the embodiment of the present invention is as follows: The probe 1 is arranged at a position on the vehicle chassis where water is easily carried. When the vehicle is driving on a muddy road surface, the mud and water will adhere to the probe 1. At this time, the probe 1 starts to work under the induction of the mud and water, and the probe 1 sends a rain signal to the main board controller 2. After receiving the rain signal, the active controller sends a control signal to the DC 12V relay 3, and the DC 12V relay 3 acts to control the electric push rod 4 to drive the fender body 5 to move relative to the tire 7.

[0046] It should be noted that although this embodiment only focuses on introducing the action plan of the electric push rod 4 to push the fender body 5 to move along the axial direction of the tire 7, the extension and contraction of the fender body 5 in the present invention are not limited to the axial direction along the tire 7. In some other better implementation manners, the anti-splash effect of muddy water or the hiding effect of itself can also be improved by cooperating with the change of the extension length of the lower end of the fender body 5 (see Embodiment 3 later).

[0047] Embodiment 2

[0048] Based on Embodiment 1, this embodiment sets a signal transmission mechanism for the intelligent fender to communicate with the vehicle AR navigation system and receive the automatic control signal of the fender body sent by the vehicle AR navigation system; the automatic control signal of the fender body is used to drive the fender body 5 to extend forward in the direction close to the tire before the vehicle AR navigation system determines that the vehicle enters the waterlogged or muddy road surface, and retract after the vehicle leaves the waterlogged or muddy road surface.

[0049] Through this embodiment, the problem of using the fender in different scenarios can be solved. After the rain starts, the control mechanism controls the driving mechanism to act according to the rain signal, and controls the relative position movement of the fender body with respect to the tire to prevent rain or muddy water from splashing. However, after the rain stops, there will be a situation where most of the road surface has no water accumulation and a small part of the road surface has water accumulation. At this time, the vehicle AR navigation system can be linked to extend the fender body in advance before driving into the waterlogged or muddy road surface, and retract the fender body when driving on the road surface without water accumulation, realizing the automatic control mode of the fender.

[0050] Embodiment 3

[0051] Based on Embodiment 1, this embodiment introduces a solution to change the extension length of the lower end of the fender body 5 while the fender body 5 moves along the axial direction of the tire 7.

[0052] As Figure 4 shown in the figure, in the figure, by adding a fender sub-board 11 and a linkage member to cooperate with the change of the extension length of the lower end of the fender body 5. Specifically, in Figure 4 , the fender sub-board 11 is arranged along the arc-shaped upper surface of the fender body 5. The linkage member includes a pulling rope 8. One end of the pulling rope 8 is connected to a part that can be pulled by the fender body 5, such as the front end of the electric push rod 4. The pulling rope 8 passes through the rope passing point 9 on the vehicle body, and the other end is connected to the front end of the fender sub-board 11. The synchronous movement of the fender sub-board 11 is realized by the pulling of the pulling rope 8 during the movement of the fender body 5. The rope passing point 9 on the vehicle body can be set at the position of the vehicle body fender or side panel according to different vehicle models and sheet metal processes, with the pulling distance being appropriate. A rope passing hole is set at this point to allow the pulling rope 8 to pass through smoothly.Figure 5 It shows an example in the experiment where the rope-passing point 9 of the vehicle body is set on the fender. It is preferably to set a number of rope-guiding parts 10 on the upper surface of the fender body 5 at the position where the pulling rope 8 passes to restrict the passing position and distance of the pulling rope 8. The auxiliary fender 11 should have a certain self-weight so that the auxiliary fender 11 can move smoothly downward when the pulling rope 8 releases the auxiliary fender 11 downward. A guiding clamping part can be set below the auxiliary fender 11, and a guiding clamping groove cooperating with the guiding clamping part can be set on the fender body 5 to prevent the auxiliary fender 11 from running off track.

[0053] In this embodiment, the electric push rod 4 and the pulling rope 8 work together as linkage parts. When responding to the instruction of the anti-splash requirement for muddy water introduced above, the fender body 5 is driven to move towards the tire 7 along the direction parallel to the axis of the tire 7 to increase the covering area of the fender body 5 on the tire 7. At the same time, the auxiliary fender 11 is driven to move downward along the arc surface of the fender body 5, and the protection area is increased by increasing the extension length of the end of the fender body 5. On the contrary, the fender body 5 is driven to move away from the tire 7 along the direction parallel to the axis of the tire 7, and at the same time, the auxiliary fender 11 is driven to move upward along the arc surface of the fender body 5, and the beauty of the vehicle is ensured by reducing the extension length of the end of the fender body 5.

[0054] It should be noted that the scheme of changing the extension length of the lower end of the fender body 5 while the fender body 5 moves along the axial direction of the tire 7 is far more than the scheme introduced in this embodiment. In some other schemes, the auxiliary fender 11 can also be independently driven by adding a driving part. Due to space limitations of the present invention, it will not be listed in detail.

[0055] Embodiment 4

[0056] Combined with Figure 3 As shown, this embodiment provides a control method for an intelligent fender. The control method includes the following steps:

[0057] S1. Obtain the rainwater signal;

[0058] S2. Control the driving mechanism to act according to the rainwater signal;

[0059] S3. Based on the action signal of the driving mechanism, control the relative position movement of the fender body 5 with respect to the tire;

[0060] When the preset action does not conform to the usage road condition, manual control can be performed. The control method further includes the step:

[0061] S4. Based on the control signal of the telescopic control button, control the extension or retraction action of the fender body 5;

[0062] When the weather changes from rainy to sunny during vehicle driving, or there is partial water accumulation on the road surface, the vehicle AR navigation system can be used in conjunction. By utilizing the road surface recognition function of the vehicle AR navigation system, it can anticipate water accumulation or muddy road surfaces in advance. The vehicle AR navigation system is already an existing technology and will not be elaborated here. The control method further includes the steps:

[0063] S5. In response to the automatic control signal of the fender sent by the vehicle AR navigation system, the fender body 5 enters the automatic mode. In this mode, control the fender body 5 to automatically extend or retract.

[0064] To reduce the false alarm rate of the rain sensor, after step S1, it further includes:

[0065] S11. Obtain the real-time weather information of the vehicle's location through the vehicle-mounted controller;

[0066] S12. If the weather information is rainy weather, execute S2;

[0067] S13. If the weather information is non-rainy weather, send a voice and / or image prompt to the user to manually control the fender.

[0068] In summary of the above embodiments, the intelligent fender of the present invention can not only achieve automatic control of the fender, but also solve the technical problems of the limited telescopic direction and amplitude of the existing fender. It is especially suitable for golf carts, sightseeing vehicles, shared vehicles, etc. While enhancing the vehicle intelligence, it also solves the problem that the fender cannot be fully hidden and affects the appearance.

[0069] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that the orientation or positional relationship indicated by terms such as "upper" and "lower" is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings. It is only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, it should not be construed as a limitation to the present invention. Unless otherwise clearly specified and defined, the terms "installation", "connection", and "connection" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection, an electrical connection; it can be directly connected, or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and it can be the internal communication of two elements. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0070] It should be noted that in the present invention, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "comprising", "including" or any other variant thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article or device comprising a series of elements not only includes those elements but also includes other elements not expressly listed, or further includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. Without further limitation, an element defined by the statement "comprising an..." does not exclude the presence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article or device comprising the said element.

Claims

1. A smart fender, characterized in that: It includes: Fender body (5); Rain sensor, used to obtain rain signal; A driving mechanism, used for controlling the movement of the fender body (5) relative to the tire position; The control mechanism is used to control the action of the driving mechanism according to the rain signal.

2. The smart fender according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving mechanism is an electric push rod (4) used for pushing the fender body (5) to move relative to the tire position.

3. The smart fender according to claim 2, characterized in that: The fender body is an arc-shaped structure, the electric push rod (4) is arranged on the chassis of the vehicle body, and the moving direction of the fender body (5) is parallel to the direction of the tire axis.

4. The smart fender according to claim 3, characterized in that: The rain sensor comprises a probe (1) and a mainboard controller (2); the probe (1) is used to detect the rain signal, and the mainboard controller (2) is used to transmit the rain signal to the control mechanism.

5. The smart fender according to claim 4, characterized in that: The probe (1) is arranged on the inner side of the fender body (5) close to the front of the vehicle.

6. The smart fender according to claim 4, characterized in that: The mainboard controller (2) comprises a telescopic control button for actively controlling the telescopic action of the electric push rod (4) when necessary.

7. The smart fender according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a signal transmission mechanism for communicating with the vehicle AR navigation system and receiving a fender body automatic control signal sent by the vehicle AR navigation system; The fender body automatic control signal is used to drive the fender body (5) to extend toward the tire before the vehicle AR navigation system determines that the vehicle enters water or muddy road, and to retract after the vehicle leaves the water or muddy road.

8. A control method for the smart fender according to any one of claims 1 to 7, the control method comprising the following steps: Acquiring the rain signal; Controlling the action of the driving mechanism according to the rain signal; Based on the action signal of the driving mechanism, the fender body (5) is controlled to move relative to the tire position.

9. The control method of the intelligent fender according to claim 8, characterized in that: Based on the control signal of the telescopic control button, the action of the driving mechanism is controlled.

10. The control method of the smart fender as claimed in claim 9, wherein in response to the fender automatic control signal sent by the vehicle AR navigation system, the fender body (5) enters an automatic mode, in which the fender body (5) is controlled to automatically extend or retract.

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