User customizable drift control method and user customizable drift control device

Abstract

To provide a user customizable drift control method and a user customizable drift control device capable of difference-executing drift control in accordance with selectivity of a driver.SOLUTION: This user customizable drift control method comprises: a step of determining whether to permit entry to a drift mode on the basis of a drift mode activation condition; a step of executing basic mode control when the drift mode activation condition is not satisfied; a step of entering the drive mode when the drift mode activation condition is satisfied; a step of receiving input information containing at least one of an accelerator reaction speed level, a posture control assist level, and road information from a user upon the entry to the drift mode; and a step of executing user customizable drift control on the basis of the input information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a user-customized drift control method and a user-customized drift control device that differentially execute drift control according to user input.

Background Art

[0002] Recently, the release of high-output vehicles has increased, and control elements that take into account the pleasure of driving by the driver beyond mere functional aspects have increased. One of them is drift driving that utilizes the characteristics of rear-wheel-based automobiles.

[0003] Drift driving is a technique in which, in order to maintain a high exit speed at a corner, the driver intentionally slides the rear wheels while maintaining control of the automobile, inducing an oversteering state to pass through the corner. In an electric vehicle, the above-described drift driving is realized by distributing torque only to the rear-wheel motor.

[0004] In a rear-wheel drive automobile, due to its driving characteristics, saturation of the rear-wheel tires may occur rapidly, which tends to lead to oversteer of the automobile. At this time, by controlling oversteer, it can be connected to drift driving.

[0005] Conventionally, there has been no technique for performing drift control in consideration of the driving skill or drift skill of the driver. Therefore, an experienced driver may feel that the drift control is not sufficient as desired or may be bothered by an undesired control, and a novice driver may feel that vehicle control is difficult during drift control.

[0006] In order to improve this, a technique for receiving the driver's input and differentially executing drift control to the extent desired by the driver is desired.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0007]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0008] An object of the present invention is to differentially execute drift control according to the degree of driver selection.

[0009] The problems to be solved by the present invention are not limited to this, and other technical problems not mentioned will be derivable from the configurations used in the following specification and drawings by an ordinary technician.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0010] The present invention has been made to achieve such an object, and provides a user-customized drift control method and a user-customized drift control device.

[0011] A user-customized drift control method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a step of determining whether to enter a drift mode based on drift mode activation conditions, a step of entering the drift mode when the drift mode activation conditions are satisfied, a step of receiving input information including at least one of an accelerator reaction speed level, an attitude control assist level, and road surface information from a user based on entry into the drift mode, and a step of performing user-customized drift control based on the input information.

[0012] A user-customized drift control device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a processor and a storage medium storing instruction words for executing one or more programs configured to be executable by the processor. The one or more programs include: a step of determining whether to enter a drift mode based on drift mode activation conditions; a step of performing basic mode control when the drift mode activation conditions are not satisfied; a step of entering the drift mode when the drift mode activation conditions are satisfied; a step of receiving input information including at least one of an accelerator response speed level, an attitude control assist level, and road surface information from a user based on the entry into the drift mode; and a step of performing user-customized drift control based on the input information.

Advantages of the Invention

[0013] According to an embodiment of the present invention, drift control can be differentially executed according to the degree of user selection, and the degree of drift control can be varied according to the driver's skill level or the slipperiness of the road surface, thereby enhancing the driver's driving satisfaction.

[0014] The advantages of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned advantages. Any ordinary technician will be able to derive other advantages not mentioned from the configurations used in the following description and drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0015]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

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Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0016] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, when the detailed description obscures the gist of the present invention unnecessarily, that description will be omitted. Also, the same reference numerals are used throughout the drawings for parts that perform similar functions and operations.

[0017] Throughout the specification, when a part is said to be "connected" to another part, this includes not only the case where it is "directly connected", but also the case where it is "indirectly connected" with other elements interposed therebetween. Further, when a component is said to "include", it means that other components may be further included, without excluding other components, unless otherwise stated to the contrary.

[0018] The present invention can be realized in various different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein.

[0019] FIG. 1 shows a user-customized drift control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] Referring to FIG. 1, a user-customized drift control device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention can include an input unit 100, a vehicle control unit 200, and an attitude control device 300. The vehicle control unit 200 includes an attitude control module 210 and a motor control module 220.

[0021] The input unit 100 is an input device that enables a driver to make selections. For example, it can be realized by mechanisms such as AVN and paddle shift, or a mobile phone installed with a dedicated application.

[0022] On the other hand, the input unit 100 receives input information from the user regarding the accelerator response speed level, attitude control assist level, and road surface information, etc.

[0023] At this time, the accelerator response speed level means the change in the control amount according to the degree of depression of the accelerator pedal. For example, when a skilled driver desires an immediate output by the accelerator, the accelerator response speed level is selected as "high". Or, when an unskilled driver desires a slow output by the accelerator, the accelerator response speed level is selected as "low". At this time, the accelerator response speed level is provided to be selectable according to the grades set from "low" to "high".

[0024] The attitude control assist level is information that enables selection of the degree of intervention of attitude control by the attitude control device.

[0025] The posture control device is a device for preventing a moving automobile from skidding and assisting stable driving. Generally, a vehicle posture control device controls a braking device and an engine in a dangerous driving situation where the tire contact limit is reached during a turning operation of the vehicle, and guides the driver to be able to turn along a desired trajectory. For example, when a vehicle starts to skid on a slippery road surface (such as a wet road or a snowy road), contrary to the driver's driving intention through the steering wheel operation, the vehicle moves in an unpredictable direction, which poses a major problem to the driver's safety. In such a situation, the vehicle posture control device automatically activates the posture control function to ensure a stable steering force of the vehicle.

[0026] However, the more experienced the driver is, the less likely they are to prefer the intervention of other control functions, and there may be a stronger will to drive the vehicle through the driver's active control. Therefore, an experienced driver can select the posture control assist level as "low" to receive less intervention from the posture control device, while a novice driver can select the posture control assist level as "high" to receive more assistance from the posture control device.

[0027] The road surface information includes information regarding the slipperiness of the road surface. For example, when it is snowing or the road is frozen, the driver can select that "the road surface is slippery", and when it is a dry road, the driver can select that "the road surface is not slippery".

[0028] As another embodiment, the driver can select a preset driver level. For example, when "Beginner" is selected, the accelerator response speed is set to "low" and the posture control assist level is set to "high". Alternatively, when "Intermediate" is selected, the accelerator response speed and the degree of posture control assist are set to "medium". Also, when "Advanced" is selected, the accelerator response speed level is set to "high" and the posture control assist level is set to "low".

[0029] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an input screen of a user according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] Referring to FIG. 2, the user input screen is provided such that the acceleration response speed level and the attitude control assist level can be selected from a level of "low" to "high". And the road surface can be provided such that the degree of being slippery (Snow), normal (Wet), or not slippery (Dry Asphalt) can be selected, and a preset level can also be selected.

[0031] Referring to FIG. 1 again, the vehicle control unit 200 that controls the entire vehicle includes an attitude control module 210 and a motor control module 220.

[0032] The attitude control module 210 transmits a control signal to the attitude control device 300 to instruct it to perform attitude control. The attitude control module 210 performs braking control-related calculations, transmits the result value to the attitude control device 300, and the attitude control device drives an actuator or the like according to the received result value.

[0033] In addition, the attitude control module 210 differentially applies the control amount of the control involved in the vehicle attitude control according to the attitude control assist level. The more skilled the driver is, the less likely they are to prefer the intervention of other controllers, and there may be a strong will to control the vehicle attitude only by the driver's input. Therefore, the lower the attitude control assist level, the more the intervention of the controller is delayed.

[0034] As a method of differentiating the degree of attitude control, there is a method of differentiating the control time point (threshold value), and there is a method of differentiating the control amount.

[0035] The method of differentiating the control time point is to differentially set the control threshold value for performing attitude control. When the attitude control assist level is high, the control threshold value is set low so that immediate attitude control is performed. When the attitude control assist level is low, the control threshold value is set high so that attitude control is performed as late as possible.

[0036] On the one hand, the method of differentiating the control amount is a method of differentially setting the control amount by attitude control according to the attitude control assist level. When the attitude control assist level is high, the control amount by attitude control is set high, and when the attitude control assist level is low, the control amount by attitude control is set low.

[0037] Then, the motor control module 220 transmits a control signal to the front-wheel motor 5 and the rear-wheel motor 6. The control method of the motor control module will be described later with reference to FIGS. 3, 4, 6, and 7.

[0038] FIGS. 3 and 4 are diagrams for explaining a method in which a vehicle controller according to an embodiment of the present invention controls the inclination of motor torque according to the degree of depression of an accelerator pedal.

[0039] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the lower graph shows the degree of depression of the accelerator pedal over time, and the upper graph shows the motor torque of the front and rear wheels according to the degree of depression of the accelerator pedal. The dashed line in the upper graph indicates the case of control in the basic mode.

[0040] If the accelerator response speed level is high, the inclination of the front-wheel motor torque and the inclination of the rear-wheel motor torque according to the degree of depression of the accelerator pedal are greater than those in the basic mode control. Also, when the accelerator response speed level is low, the inclination of the front-wheel motor torque and the inclination of the rear-wheel motor torque according to the degree of depression of the accelerator pedal are smaller than those in the basic mode control.

[0041] FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the degree of intervention of the front-wheel reinforcement control mode according to the attitude control assist level by a vehicle controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] The front-wheel reinforcement control mode is a kind of attitude control method by an attitude control module or an attitude control device. When the tires of the rear wheels saturate rapidly compared to the front wheels and the slip angle of the rear wheels becomes larger than the slip angle of the front wheels, it is a control method for performing attitude control by controlling the motor torque of the front and rear wheels.

[0043] Referring to FIG. 5, even if there is no change in the degree of depression of the accelerator pedal, the rear-wheel motor torque decreases and the front-wheel motor torque increases due to the operation of the attitude control device.

[0044] If the attitude control assist level is high, by increasing the degree of intervention of the front-wheel reinforcement control mode, the rear-wheel torque is made lower and the front-wheel torque is made higher, so that more torque is applied to the front wheels to assist the driver in more easily performing attitude control.

[0045] On the other hand, when the attitude control assist level is low, by reducing the degree of intervention of the front-wheel reinforcement control mode, the effect of attitude control is hardly generated, and the driver's input is maximally reflected to allow the attitude to be taken without assistance of motor control.

[0046] FIG. 6 shows the wheel speeds according to the road surface conditions when the differential control of wheel slip is not applied, and FIG. 7 shows the wheel speeds according to the road surface conditions when the differential control according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

[0047] In FIGS. 6 and 7, the wheel speeds of the rear wheels are represented by RR and RL, and the wheel speeds of the front wheels are represented by FL and FR.

[0048] Even if the same motor torque is applied, since the friction coefficient of the road surface varies depending on the type of the road surface, the degree of occurrence of wheel slip is different, and the amount of wheel slip generated may be different. Therefore, the input of road surface information is received from the user, wheel slip control according to the road surface information is performed, and the driver's drift is facilitated.

[0049] Referring to FIG. 6, in the leftmost graph, when the road surface is very slippery (Snow), it can be confirmed that a lot of wheel slip occurred at the rear wheels. And in the rightmost graph, when the road surface has little slipperiness (Dry Asphalt), it can be confirmed that little wheel slip occurred. Even when the same torque is applied, wheel slip is more likely to occur in the order of increasing slipperiness of the road surface. Therefore, the lower the friction of the road surface, the easier it is for slip to occur and for drifting to occur. Therefore, after a certain amount of slip has occurred, even if the accelerator is further applied, it is not necessary to excessively increase the motor torque, and if the wheel slip is maintained in an excessively occurring state for a long time, the risk of hardware failure increases. Therefore, the lower the friction road surface, the tighter the level of allowing wheel slip is set.

[0050] Referring to FIG. 7, when the road surface information is set to "very slippery (Snow)", the allowable level of wheel slip is set low to suppress the occurrence of wheel slip. And when the road surface information is set to "not slippery (Dry Asphalt)", the allowable level of wheel slip is set high to allow a greater degree of occurrence of wheel slip.

[0051] FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining a user-customized drift control method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0052] Referring to FIG. 8, in step S10, based on the drift mode activation conditions, it is determined whether to enter the drift mode. The drift mode activation conditions can be set in advance, and when the activation conditions are satisfied by the user's input or operation, the drift mode is entered.

[0053] In step S20, when the drift mode activation conditions are not satisfied, basic mode control is performed.

[0054] In the S30 stage, when the drift mode activation conditions are met, the vehicle enters the drift mode and receives input information from the user. The input information includes at least one of the accelerator response speed level, the attitude control assist level, and the road surface information.

[0055] After that, in the S40 stage, user-customized drift control is performed according to each of the accelerator response speed level, the attitude control assist level, and the road surface information.

[0056] Then, in the S50 stage, when the drift mode cancellation conditions are met, the drift mode can end. If the drift mode cancellation conditions are not met, the user-customized drift control continues to be performed.

[0057] On the other hand, FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a computing device 400 that wholly or partly realizes the user-customized drift control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0058] As shown in FIG. 9, the computing device 400 includes at least one processor 401, a computer-readable storage medium 402, and a communication bus 403.

[0059] The processor 401 operates the computing device 400 according to the foregoing exemplary embodiments. For example, the processor 401 executes one or more programs stored in the computer-readable storage medium 402. The one or more programs can include one or more computer-executable instruction words, and when the computer-executable instruction words are executed by the processor 401, the computing device 400 is configured to operate according to the exemplary embodiments.

[0060] The computer-readable storage medium 402 is configured to store computer-executable instruction words or program codes, program data, and / or other appropriate forms of information. The program 402a stored in the computer-readable storage medium 402 includes a set of instruction words executable by the processor 401. In one embodiment, the computer-readable storage medium 402 may be a memory (volatile memory such as random access memory, non-volatile memory, or a suitable combination thereof), one or more magnetic disk storage devices, optical disk storage devices, flash memory devices, other forms of storage media accessible by the computing device 400 and storing desired information, or a suitable combination thereof.

[0061] The communication bus 403 includes the processor 401 and the computer-readable storage medium 402, and interconnects various other components of the computing device 400.

[0062] The computing device 400 further includes one or more input / output interfaces 405 and one or more network communication interfaces 406 that provide an interface for one or more input / output devices 404. The input / output interface 405 and the network communication interface 406 are coupled to the communication bus 403.

[0063] The input / output device 404 is connected to other components of the computing device 400 via the input / output interface 405. Exemplary input / output devices 404 include input devices such as pointing devices (such as a mouse or a trackpad), keyboards, touch input devices (such as a touchpad or a touch screen), human voice or sound input devices, various types of sensor devices and / or imaging devices, and / or output devices such as display devices, printers, speakers, and / or network cards. The exemplary input / output device 404 may be included inside the computing device 400 as one of the components constituting the computing device 400, or may be connected to the computing device 400 as a separate device distinguishable from the computing device 400.

[0064] On the other hand, embodiments of the present invention include a program for executing the methods described herein on a computer, and a computer-readable recording medium including the program. The computer-readable recording medium includes program instructions, local data files, local data structures, etc. alone or in combination. The medium may be specially designed and configured for the present invention, or may be one commonly used in the field of computer software. Examples of the computer-readable recording medium include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tapes, optical recording media such as CD-ROMs, DVDs, and hardware devices specially configured to store and execute program instructions such as ROMs, RAMs, flash memories, etc. Examples of the program include not only machine language code created by a compiler, but also high-level language code executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like.

[0065] As described above in detail for the representative embodiments of the present invention, those having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains will understand that various modifications are possible within the scope not departing from the scope of the present invention with respect to the above-described embodiments. Therefore, the scope of the rights of the present invention should not be defined as being limited to the described embodiments, but should be defined not only by the claims described below, but also by those equivalent to the scope of these claims.

[0066] In the description of the present invention, the "~ part" is realized by various means, for example, a processor, program instructions executed by the processor, software modules, microcode, computer program products, logic circuits, application-specific integrated circuits, firmware, and the like.

[0067] The content of the method disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be directly realized by a hardware processor, or can be realized by a combination of hardware and software modules in a processor, and is executed and completed. The software module is stored in a conventional storage medium such as a random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, or electrically erasable programmable memory, register, and the like. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information stored in the memory and combines it with the hardware to complete the content of the above-described method. To avoid duplication, detailed description is omitted here.

[0068] The present invention is not limited by the above-described embodiments and the accompanying drawings. Various forms of substitution, modification, and change are possible within the scope not departing from the technical idea of the present invention.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0069] 10 User-customized Drift Control Device 100 Input Unit 200 Vehicle Control Unit 210 Attitude Control Module 220 Motor Control Module 300 Posture Control Device 1, 2 Front Wheels 3, 4 Rear Wheels 5 Front Wheel Motor 6 Rear Wheel Motor

Claims

1. Based on the drift mode activation conditions, determining whether to enter the drift mode; When the drift mode activation conditions are met, entering the drift mode; Based on the entry into the drift mode, receiving input information including at least one of an accelerator reaction speed level, an attitude control assist level, and road surface information from the user; Based on the input information, performing user-customized drift control, characterized by a user-customized drift control method comprising the above steps.

2. The step of performing the user-customized drift control includes: Based on the accelerator reaction speed level, differentially controlling the inclination of the front-wheel motor torque and the inclination of the rear-wheel motor torque according to the degree of depression of the accelerator pedal, characterized by the user-customized drift control method according to Claim 1.

3. The step of differentially controlling the inclination of the motor torque includes: When the accelerator reaction speed level is high, controlling such that the inclination of the front-wheel motor torque and the inclination of the rear-wheel motor torque according to the degree of depression of the accelerator pedal are greater than those in the basic mode control; When the accelerator reaction speed level is low, controlling such that the inclination of the front-wheel motor torque and the inclination of the rear-wheel motor torque according to the degree of depression of the accelerator pedal are smaller than those in the basic mode control, characterized by the user-customized drift control method according to Claim 2.

4. The step of performing the user-customized drift control includes: Based on the attitude control assist level, differentially setting a control threshold value for performing attitude control, characterized by the user-customized drift control method according to Claim 1.

5. The step of differentially setting the control threshold value includes: When the attitude control assist level is high, setting the control threshold value lower than that in the basic mode control; When the attitude control assist level is low, setting the control threshold value higher than that in the basic mode control, characterized by the user-customized drift control method according to Claim 4.

6. The step of performing the user-customized drift control includes: Based on the attitude control assist level, differentially setting a control amount by attitude control, characterized by the user-customized drift control method according to Claim 1.

7. The step of differentially setting the control amount is when the attitude control assist level is high, setting the control amount by the attitude control higher than that in the basic mode control; when the attitude control assist level is low, setting the control amount by the attitude control lower than that in the basic mode control, and the user-customized drift control method according to claim 6 is characterized by including this.

8. The step of performing the user-customized drift control is including the step of differentially setting the degree of intervention of the front-wheel strengthening control mode in which the rear-wheel motor torque is reduced and the front-wheel motor torque is increased based on the attitude control assist level, and the user-customized drift control method according to claim 1 is characterized by this.

9. The step of differentially setting the degree of intervention of the front-wheel strengthening control mode is when the attitude control assist level is high, increasing the degree of intervention of the front-wheel strengthening control mode to set the rear-wheel motor torque lower and the front-wheel motor torque higher; when the attitude control assist level is low, reducing the degree of intervention of the front-wheel strengthening control mode to set the rear-wheel motor torque higher and the front-wheel motor torque lower, and the user-customized drift control method according to claim 8 is characterized by including this.

10. The user-customized drift control method according to claim 1 further includes the step of performing basic mode control when the drift mode activation condition is not satisfied.

11. A processor and a storage medium recording instruction words for executing one or more programs configured to be executable by the processor, wherein the one or more programs include the step of determining whether to enter the drift mode based on the drift mode activation condition; when the drift mode activation condition is satisfied, entering the drift mode; receiving input information including at least one of an accelerator reaction speed level, an attitude control assist level, and road surface information from the user based on the entry into the drift mode; and performing user-customized drift control based on the input information, and a user-customized drift control device is characterized by including this.

12. The step of performing the user-customized drift control is The user-customizable drift control device according to claim 11, further comprising a step of differentially controlling the inclination of the front-wheel motor torque and the inclination of the rear-wheel motor torque according to the degree of depression of the accelerator pedal based on the accelerator reaction speed level.

13. The step of differentially controlling the inclination of the motor torque includes: When the accelerator reaction speed level is high, controlling such that the inclination of the front-wheel motor torque and the inclination of the rear-wheel motor torque according to the degree of depression of the accelerator pedal are greater than those in the basic mode control; When the accelerator reaction speed level is low, controlling such that the inclination of the front-wheel motor torque and the inclination of the rear-wheel motor torque according to the degree of depression of the accelerator pedal are smaller than those in the basic mode control. The user-customizable drift control device according to claim 12 is characterized by including the above.

14. The step of performing the user-customizable drift control includes: The user-customizable drift control device according to claim 11, further comprising a step of differentially setting a control threshold value for performing attitude control based on the attitude control assist level.

15. The step of differentially setting the control threshold value includes: When the attitude control assist level is high, setting the control threshold value lower than that in the basic mode control; When the attitude control assist level is low, setting the control threshold value higher than that in the basic mode control. The user-customizable drift control device according to claim 14 is characterized by including the above.

16. The step of performing the user-customizable drift control includes: The user-customizable drift control device according to claim 11, further comprising a step of differentially setting a control amount by attitude control based on the attitude control assist level.

17. The step of differentially setting the control amount includes: When the attitude control assist level is high, setting the control amount by attitude control higher than that in the basic mode control; When the attitude control assist level is low, setting the control amount by attitude control lower than that in the basic mode control. The user-customizable drift control device according to claim 16 is characterized by including the above.

18. The step of performing the user-customizable drift control includes: The user-customized drift control device according to claim 11, characterized by including a step of differentially setting the degree of intervention of a front-wheel reinforcement control mode in which the rear-wheel motor torque is reduced and the front-wheel motor torque is increased based on the posture control assist level.

19. The step of differentially setting the degree of intervention of the front-wheel reinforcement control mode When the posture control assist level is high, by increasing the degree of intervention of the front-wheel reinforcement control mode, setting the rear-wheel motor torque lower and the front-wheel motor torque higher; When the posture control assist level is low, by reducing the degree of intervention of the front-wheel reinforcement control mode, setting the rear-wheel motor torque higher and the front-wheel motor torque lower. The user-customized drift control device according to claim 18, characterized by including these steps.

20. The one or more programs The user-customized drift control device according to claim 11, further characterized by including a step of performing basic mode control when the drift mode activation conditions are not satisfied.

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