Vehicle positioning system and vehicle

Abstract

The utility model provides a vehicle positioning system and a vehicle, and relates to the technical field of vehicle positioning. Comprising an upstream controller, a vehicle control unit and a downstream controller, the upstream controller comprises a first control unit and a global navigation satellite system (GNSS), and the GNSS is connected with the first control unit through a universal asynchronous receiver / transmitter (UART) serial port and a general input / output (GPIO) port respectively; wherein the UART serial port is used for transmitting the position information and the time information acquired by the GNSS, and the GPIO port is used for synchronizing the time when the time information acquired by the GNSS is generated; the vehicle control unit is connected with the first control unit and the downstream controller and used for transmitting the position information and the time information to the downstream controller. According to the embodiment of the invention, the GNSS is only arranged in the upstream controller, and the GNSS information is forwarded to the downstream controller through the vehicle control unit, so that the redundant GNSS in the vehicle is reduced, and the consistency of the information obtained by each controller is ensured.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of vehicle positioning technology, and in particular to a vehicle positioning system and a vehicle. Background Technology

[0002] As the automotive industry moves towards intelligence and connectivity, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) positioning technology has become the technological foundation for improving vehicle safety, enabling autonomous driving, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, and remote user control.

[0003] In related technologies, separate GNSS servers are set up for different controllers in a vehicle that need to access GNSS information, resulting in multiple redundant GNSS servers in the vehicle. Furthermore, the accuracy of the GNSS data can affect the consistency of the GNSS information acquired by each controller. Utility Model Content

[0004] To overcome the problems existing in related technologies, this disclosure provides a vehicle positioning system and a vehicle.

[0005] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a vehicle positioning system is provided, including: an upstream controller, a vehicle controller, and a downstream controller;

[0006] The upstream controller includes a first control unit and a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). The GNSS is connected to the first control unit via a Universal Asynchronous Receiver / Transmitter (UART) serial port and a General Purpose Input / Output (GPIO) port. The UART serial port is used to transmit the position and time information acquired by the GNSS, and the GPIO port is used to synchronize the time information acquired by the GNSS.

[0007] The vehicle controller is connected to both the first control unit and the downstream controller, and is used to transmit location information and time information to the downstream controller.

[0008] In some embodiments, the vehicle controller includes: a second control unit and an Ethernet switch;

[0009] The input terminal of the second control unit is connected to the output terminal of the first control unit, the output terminal of the second control unit is connected to the input terminal of the Ethernet switch, and the output terminal of the Ethernet switch is connected to the downstream controller.

[0010] In some embodiments, the vehicle controller includes: a second control unit and a controller area network (CAN) transceiver;

[0011] The input terminal of the second control unit is connected to the output terminal of the first control unit, the output terminal of the second control unit is connected to the input terminal of the CAN transceiver, and the output terminal of the CAN transceiver is connected to the downstream controller.

[0012] In some embodiments, the vehicle controller includes: a second control unit, an Ethernet switch, and a CAN transceiver;

[0013] The input terminal of the second control unit is connected to the output terminal of the first control unit, and the output terminal of the second control unit is connected to the input terminal of the Ethernet switch and the input terminal of the CAN transceiver, respectively.

[0014] The output of the Ethernet switch is connected to a downstream controller that has an Ethernet port, and the output of the CAN transceiver is connected to a downstream controller that does not have an Ethernet port.

[0015] In some embodiments, the first control unit is also connected to the second control unit via a GPIO port, and the second control unit is also connected to a downstream controller connected to the CAN transceiver via a GPIO port.

[0016] In some embodiments, the upstream controller further includes an inertial measurement unit (IMU) connected to the first control unit.

[0017] In some embodiments, the IMU is connected to the Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) of the first control unit.

[0018] In some embodiments, the upstream controller is a smart driving controller.

[0019] In some embodiments, the downstream controller is at least one of a cockpit controller, a T-Box controller, and a data logger.

[0020] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a vehicle is provided, including: the vehicle positioning system described in the first aspect.

[0021] The technical solutions provided in this disclosure may have the following beneficial effects:

[0022] The vehicle positioning system provided in this disclosure includes an upstream controller, a vehicle controller, and a downstream controller. The upstream controller includes a first control unit and a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). The GNSS is connected to the first control unit via a Universal Asynchronous Receiver / Transmitter (UART) serial port and a General Purpose Input / Output (GPIO) port. The UART serial port is used to transmit location and time information acquired by the GNSS, and the GPIO port is used to synchronize the time information acquired by the GNSS. The vehicle controller is connected to both the first control unit and the downstream controller, and is used to transmit location and time information to the downstream controller. In the solution provided in this disclosure, the GNSS is only present in the upstream controller, and the location and time information acquired by the GNSS is forwarded to the downstream controller through the vehicle controller, reducing redundant GNSS in the vehicle and ensuring the consistency of information acquired by each controller. Attached Figure Description

[0023] Figure 1 This diagram illustrates the architecture of a vehicle positioning system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of an upstream controller in an embodiment of this disclosure is shown.

[0025] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of a vehicle positioning system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0026] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of another vehicle positioning system in an embodiment of this disclosure is shown.

[0027] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the structure of another vehicle positioning system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0028] Figure label:

[0029] 100 - Upstream controller; 110 - First control unit; 120 - GNSS; 130 - IMU; 200 - Vehicle controller; 210 - Second control unit; 220 - Ethernet switch; 230 - CAN transceiver; 300 - Downstream controller. Detailed Implementation

[0030] Exemplary embodiments will be described in detail herein, with examples illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following description, when referring to the drawings, identical numerals in different figures represent identical or similar elements, unless otherwise indicated. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments are not intended to represent all possible embodiments consistent with the present disclosure. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatus and methods consistent with certain aspects of the present disclosure, as detailed in the appended claims.

[0031] Furthermore, the terms “first,” “second,” etc., used in this disclosure are used only for distinguishing descriptions and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0032] Figure 1 This diagram illustrates the architecture of a vehicle positioning system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, such as... Figure 1 As shown, the vehicle positioning system includes an upstream controller 100, a vehicle controller 200, and a downstream controller 300.

[0033] The upstream controller 100 includes a first control unit 110 and a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) 120. The GNSS 120 is connected to the first control unit 110 via a Universal Asynchronous Receiver / Transmitter (UART) serial port and a General-Purpose Input / Output (GPIO) port. The UART serial port is used to transmit the position and time information acquired by the GNSS 120, and the GPIO port is used to synchronize the time information acquired by the GNSS 120.

[0034] The vehicle controller 200 is connected to the first control unit 110 and the downstream controller 300 respectively, and is used to transmit location information and time information to the downstream controller 300.

[0035] It is understood that, in this embodiment of the disclosure, the upstream controller 100 can directly obtain GNSS information through its onboard GNSS 120 and transmit the GNSS information to the vehicle controller 200. The downstream controller 300 cannot directly obtain GNSS information through the GNSS 120 and needs to distribute the GNSS information obtained by the upstream controller 100 to each downstream controller 300 through the vehicle controller 200.

[0036] That is, the transmission direction of GNSS information is: upstream controller 100 → vehicle controller 200 → downstream controller 300. The "upstream" and "downstream" of the controller can be understood as "upstream" and "downstream" relative to the vehicle controller 200 in the direction of GNSS information transmission.

[0037] For example, a controller in the vehicle with relatively high accuracy requirements for GNSS information (including location information and time information) can be used as an upstream controller 100, and a controller in the vehicle with relatively low accuracy requirements for GNSS information can be used as a downstream controller 300.

[0038] Furthermore, to avoid redundancy in GNSS120, in this embodiment of the disclosure, the number of upstream controllers 100 can be one, and the number of downstream controllers 300 can be one or more.

[0039] For example, the upstream controller 100 may be a smart driving controller, and the downstream controller 300 may be at least one of a cockpit controller, a T-Box controller, and a data recorder.

[0040] In some embodiments, the first control unit 110 may be a microcontroller unit (MCU) in the upstream controller 100.

[0041] The GNSS120 can transmit the acquired position and time information to the first control unit 110 via a UART serial port. Although the UART serial port can transmit time information simultaneously with position information, the first control unit 110 may not be able to process the time information transmitted via the UART serial port in real time due to limitations in its task processing capabilities and task scheduling status, resulting in a lag in time information synchronization. Therefore, the GNSS120 can also be hardwired to the GPIO port of the first control unit 110 and send a Pulse Per Second (PPS) signal to the first control unit 110 through the GPIO port to characterize the moment when the time information acquired by the GNSS module was generated. Those skilled in the art will understand that by combining this PPS signal with the time information transmitted via the UART serial port, delays and errors in the time information transmission process can be eliminated, achieving microsecond-level time synchronization.

[0042] The solution provided in this disclosure only includes a GNSS 120 in the upstream controller 100, and the vehicle controller 200 acts as a gateway to distribute the GNSS information acquired by the upstream controller 100 to each downstream controller 300, thereby reducing the redundancy of the GNSS 120 in the vehicle. Furthermore, in the upstream controller 100, the GNSS 120 and the first control unit 110 are connected via a UART serial port and a GPIO port hardwired connection, thus ensuring the synchronization of time information between the GNSS 120 and the first control unit 110.

[0043] Figure 2 This diagram illustrates the structure of an upstream controller 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown below. Figure 2 As shown, the upstream controller 100 may also include an inertial measurement unit (IMU 130), which is connected to the first control unit 110.

[0044] For example, the IMU 130 can be connected to the Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) of the first control unit 110.

[0045] Since GNSS 120 acquires time and position information at one-second intervals, the GNSS information received by the first control unit 110 is also at one-second intervals. By configuring an IMU 130 connected to the first control unit 110 in the upstream controller 100, and having the IMU 130 send the acceleration and angular velocity information acquired by the IMU 130 to the first control unit 110 at time intervals of less than one second (e.g., 50ms), the first control unit 110 can update the position and time information within the one-second interval based on the information acquired by the IMU 130, thus improving the real-time performance of the position and time information.

[0046] For example, assume that IMU 130 sends IMU 130 information (including acceleration and angular velocity information) to the first control unit 110 at 50ms intervals. Upon receiving the IMU 130 information, the first control unit 110 can update the position information based on the IMU 130 information. Furthermore, since the IMU 130 information is always sent to the first control unit 110 at 50ms intervals, after each receipt of IMU 130 information, the currently recorded time information can be incremented by 50ms to update the time information. Of course, after the first control unit 110 receives new GNSS information, the recorded position and time information therein is reconfigured to match the position and time information recorded in the GNSS information.

[0047] Please refer to the following. Figure 3 ,exist Figure 1 Based on the architecture shown, the vehicle controller 200 may include a second control unit 210 and an Ethernet switch 220.

[0048] The second control unit 210 can be the MCU in the vehicle controller 200. The input terminal of the second control unit 210 is connected to the output terminal of the first control unit 110, and the output terminal of the second control unit 210 is connected to the input terminal of the Ethernet switch 220. The output terminal of the Ethernet switch 220 is connected to the downstream controller 300.

[0049] For example, the input terminal of the second control unit 210 can be connected to the output terminal of the first control unit 110 via Ethernet. The time information stored in the first control unit 110 can be synchronized to the second control unit 210 via the generalized precision time protocol (gPTP) based on Ethernet, thereby ensuring the synchronization of clocks in different control units. Of course, the position information stored in the first control unit 110 can also be transmitted to the second control unit 210 via Ethernet.

[0050] For example, the second control unit 210 can be connected to each of the downstream controllers 300 via an Ethernet switch 220 to distribute time and location information to each of the downstream controllers 300. The time information transmission method can still be gPTP based on Ethernet, thus ensuring clock synchronization between the downstream controllers 300 and the second control unit 210. Furthermore, since the clock synchronization between the GNSS 120 and the first control unit 110 is ensured through hardwired transmission via GPIO ports, the clock synchronization between the first control unit 110 and the second control unit 210 is ensured through gPTP. Therefore, the overall clock of the vehicle positioning system can be uniformly provided by the GNSS 120 in the upstream controller 100.

[0051] Of course, the location information stored in the second control unit 210 can also be distributed to each downstream controller 300 through the Ethernet switch 220, which will not be elaborated in this embodiment.

[0052] Please refer to the following. Figure 4 ,exist Figure 1 Based on the architecture shown, the vehicle controller 200 may also include: a second control unit 210 and a controller area network (CAN) transceiver.

[0053] The input terminal of the second control unit 210 is connected to the output terminal of the first control unit 110, the output terminal of the second control unit 210 is connected to the input terminal of the CAN transceiver 230, and the output terminal of the CAN transceiver 230 is connected to the downstream controller 300.

[0054] It is understandable that some traditional modules or controllers in a vehicle may not support Ethernet transmission but still require GNSS information, such as data loggers. To make the vehicle positioning system provided in this embodiment compatible with these modules or controllers, a CAN transceiver 230 can be set in the vehicle controller 200 to distribute GNSS information to these modules or controllers.

[0055] Please refer to the following. Figure 5 ,exist Figure 1 Based on the architecture shown, the vehicle controller 200 may also include: a second control unit 210, an Ethernet switch 220, and a CAN transceiver 230.

[0056] The input terminal of the second control unit 210 is connected to the output terminal of the first control unit 110, and the output terminal of the second control unit 210 is connected to the input terminal of the Ethernet switch 220 and the input terminal of the CAN transceiver 230, respectively.

[0057] The output of Ethernet switch 220 is connected to a downstream controller with an Ethernet port, and the output of CAN transceiver 230 is connected to a downstream controller without an Ethernet port.

[0058] In other words, the Ethernet switch 220 and the CAN transceiver 230 can coexist in the vehicle controller 200. If the downstream controller 300 has an Ethernet port, it can preferentially connect to downstream devices via the Ethernet switch 220 to ensure faster information transmission efficiency. If the downstream controller 300 does not have an Ethernet port, the CAN transceiver 230 can be used to achieve compatibility with such devices.

[0059] Please refer to this again. Figure 4 and Figure 5 Although location and time information can be transmitted via CAN bus, it is difficult to guarantee the synchronization of time information because gPTP cannot be used when transmitting time information.

[0060] Therefore, embodiments of this disclosure can also enable the first control unit 110 to connect to the second control unit 210 via a GPIO port, and enable the second control unit 210 to connect to the downstream controller connected to the CAN transceiver 230 via a GPIO port.

[0061] In other words, the PPS pulse generated by GNSS120 can be transmitted via GPIO hardwired connections along the first control unit 110 and the second control unit 210, ultimately reaching the downstream controllers connected to the CAN transceiver 230. This PPS pulse can characterize the moment when the initial GNSS-acquired time information was generated, and it is combined with the time information transmitted via the CAN bus to eliminate delays and errors in the time information transmission process, ensuring the synchronization of the overall clock of the vehicle positioning system.

[0062] Based on the same inventive concept, this disclosure also provides a vehicle, including the vehicle positioning system described above.

[0063] The embodiments of this disclosure have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, this disclosure is not limited to the specific details of the above embodiments. Within the scope of the technical concept of this disclosure, various simple modifications can be made to the technical solutions of this disclosure, and these simple modifications all fall within the protection scope of this disclosure.

[0064] Furthermore, various different embodiments of this disclosure can be combined in any way, as long as they do not violate the spirit of this disclosure, they should also be regarded as the content disclosed in this disclosure.

Claims

1. A vehicle positioning system, characterized in that, include: Upstream controller, vehicle controller, and downstream controller; The upstream controller includes a first control unit and a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). The GNSS is connected to the first control unit via a Universal Asynchronous Receiver / Transmitter (UART) serial port and a General Purpose Input / Output (GPIO) port. The UART serial port is used to transmit the position and time information acquired by the GNSS, and the GPIO port is used to synchronize the time information acquired by the GNSS. The vehicle controller is connected to both the first control unit and the downstream controller, and is used to transmit location information and time information to the downstream controller.

2. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The vehicle controller includes: a second control unit and an Ethernet switch; The input terminal of the second control unit is connected to the output terminal of the first control unit, the output terminal of the second control unit is connected to the input terminal of the Ethernet switch, and the output terminal of the Ethernet switch is connected to the downstream controller.

3. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The vehicle controller includes: a second control unit and a controller area network (CAN) transceiver; The input terminal of the second control unit is connected to the output terminal of the first control unit, the output terminal of the second control unit is connected to the input terminal of the CAN transceiver, and the output terminal of the CAN transceiver is connected to the downstream controller.

4. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The vehicle controller includes: a second control unit, an Ethernet switch, and a CAN transceiver; The input terminal of the second control unit is connected to the output terminal of the first control unit, and the output terminal of the second control unit is connected to the input terminal of the Ethernet switch and the input terminal of the CAN transceiver, respectively. The output of the Ethernet switch is connected to a downstream controller that has an Ethernet port, and the output of the CAN transceiver is connected to a downstream controller that does not have an Ethernet port.

5. The system according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that, The first control unit is also connected to the second control unit via a GPIO port, and the second control unit is also connected to the downstream controller connected to the CAN transceiver via a GPIO port.

6. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The upstream controller also includes an inertial measurement unit (IMU), which is connected to the first control unit.

7. The system according to claim 6, characterized in that, The IMU is connected to the serial peripheral interface (SPI) of the first control unit.

8. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The upstream controller is the intelligent driving controller.

9. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The downstream controller is at least one of the following: cockpit controller, T-Box controller, and data logger.

10. A vehicle, characterized in that, include: The vehicle positioning system as described in any one of claims 1 to 9.

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