system

Abstract

This technology provides the ability to efficiently discharge batteries using unmanned operation control. [Solution] The system comprises a vehicle capable of being driven by unmanned operation control, a vehicle having a battery for driving, roller equipment having rollers that can rotate while supporting the wheels of the vehicle, and a control unit that drives the wheels supported by the rollers to rotate by unmanned operation control and drives the rollers to rotate, thereby performing a discharge process that consumes the battery's power so that the battery's charge level falls below a predetermined target value.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a system.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for driving a vehicle autonomously or by remote control in the manufacturing process of a vehicle.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the manufacturing process of a vehicle equipped with a driving battery, the battery may be intentionally discharged from the perspective of managing the state of charge (SOC) of the battery. A technique that can efficiently discharge the battery using autonomous driving control is desired.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] The present disclosure can be realized in the following forms.

[0006] (1) According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a system is provided. The system includes a vehicle capable of traveling by autonomous driving control and having a driving battery, a roller facility having a roller rotatable while supporting the wheels of the vehicle, and a control unit that drives and rotates the wheels supported by the roller by the autonomous driving control, drives the roller to rotate passively, and executes a discharge process for consuming the power of the battery so that the state of charge of the battery becomes less than or equal to a predetermined target value. This configuration allows for efficient battery discharge without moving the vehicle on the rollers, by utilizing unmanned operation control. (2) In the above configuration, the control unit may further operate auxiliary equipment mounted on the vehicle that consumes power from the battery during the discharge process. This configuration allows the battery to be discharged more efficiently during the discharge process. (3) In the above configuration, after the completion of the energy consumption test, in which the energy consumption of the vehicle is measured with the wheels supported by the rollers, the control unit may perform the discharge process while maintaining the state in which the wheels are supported by the rollers. This configuration allows for the effective discharge of batteries whose charge level has been maintained at a relatively high level due to the performance of the energy consumption test. Moreover, the energy consumption test and the discharge process can be performed consecutively without removing the vehicle from the rollers, and the energy consumption test and the discharge process can be performed more smoothly. (4) In the above configuration, the control unit may drive the wheels to rotate in the discharge process such that the average number of rotations of the wheels is greater than in the case of the energy consumption test. According to this configuration, the battery can be discharged more efficiently in the discharge process. (5) In the above embodiment, the discharge process may further include a resistance control unit that controls the rotational resistance such that the average value of the rotational resistance of the driven rotation of the roller is greater than in the case of the power consumption test. According to this embodiment, the rotational resistance of the driving rotation of the wheel can be increased further in the discharge process, and the battery can be discharged more efficiently while suppressing an increase in the rotational speed of the wheel. In addition to the system form described above, this disclosure can also be implemented in other forms, such as a control device, a vehicle manufacturing method, a control method, a program for implementing the control method, a non-temporary recording medium on which the program is stored, or a program product. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] A conceptual diagram showing the system configuration in the first embodiment. [Figure 2] An explanatory diagram showing the roller equipment. [Figure 3] A block diagram showing the system configuration in the first embodiment. [Figure 4] A flowchart illustrating the processing procedure for vehicle driving control in the first embodiment. [Figure 5] A process diagram showing a predetermined step in the first embodiment. [Figure 6] An explanatory diagram showing the schematic configuration of the system in the second embodiment. [Figure 7] A flowchart illustrating the processing procedure for vehicle driving control in the second embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] A. First Embodiment: Figure 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of system 50 in the first embodiment. System 50 comprises one or more vehicles 100, a server 200, one or more external sensors 300, and roller equipment 500.

[0009] Vehicle 100 is equipped with a battery 102 for driving and a motor 103 for driving. The battery 102 is a rechargeable secondary battery, such as a lithium-ion battery or a nickel-metal hydride battery. Vehicle 100 is configured to be able to move by consuming power from the battery 102 to drive the motor 103. The battery 102 is charged by power supplied from an external charging device or by regenerative power from the motor 103, and the state of charge (SOC) of the battery 102 increases.

[0010] Vehicle 100 can be configured as an electric vehicle, such as a battery electric vehicle (BEV), a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), or a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). Vehicle 100 may also be a vehicle that runs on tracks, such as a passenger car, truck, bus, motorcycle, car, or construction vehicle.

[0011] Vehicle 100 is configured to operate autonomously. "Autonomous operation" means operation without the operation of a passenger. Operation refers to operations related to at least one of the following: "going," "turning," or "stopping" of vehicle 100. Autonomous operation is achieved by automatic or manual remote control using a device located outside vehicle 100, or by autonomous control of vehicle 100. Vehicle 100 operating autonomously may have passengers on board who do not perform operation. Passengers who do not perform operation include, for example, people simply sitting in the seats of vehicle 100, or people performing tasks other than operation, such as assembly, inspection, or operating switches, while on board vehicle 100. Operation by a passenger is sometimes called "manned operation."

[0012] In this specification, "remote control" includes "fully remote control," in which all operations of the vehicle 100 are completely determined from outside the vehicle 100, and "partial remote control," in which some operations of the vehicle 100 are determined from outside the vehicle 100. Furthermore, "autonomous control" includes "fully autonomous control," in which the vehicle 100 autonomously controls its own operations without receiving any information from external devices, and "partial autonomous control," in which the vehicle 100 autonomously controls its own operations using information received from external devices.

[0013] Furthermore, control methods used to achieve unmanned operation, such as remote control and autonomous control, are also called unmanned operation control.

[0014] In this embodiment, system 50 is used in a factory FC where vehicle 100 is manufactured. The reference coordinate system of the factory FC is the global coordinate system GC, and any position within the factory FC can be represented by X, Y, Z coordinates in the global coordinate system GC. The factory FC comprises a first location PL1, a second location PL2, and a third location PL3. The first location PL1 and the second location PL2, and the second location PL2 and the third location PL3 are connected by a track TR on which vehicle 100 can travel. Vehicle 100 moves unmanned from the first location PL1 to the second location PL2, via the third location PL3, and along the track TR. Various processes related to vehicle 100 are carried out in the first location PL1, the second location PL2, and the third location PL3. In this embodiment, the energy consumption test described later is carried out in the second location PL2. The third location PL3 corresponds to a waiting area where vehicle 100 is kept waiting for shipment.

[0015] Figure 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the roller equipment 500 in this embodiment. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, in this embodiment, the roller equipment 500 is installed at the second location PL2. The roller equipment 500 is an example of inspection equipment for inspecting a vehicle 100. As shown in Figure 2, the roller equipment 500 comprises a roller 510, a roller control device 520, an equipment sensor 530, and a roller braking unit 540.

[0016] The roller 510 is installed, for example, on the road surface of the factory FC or on a platform on which the vehicle 100 is placed so that the vehicle 100 can travel onto the roller 510. The roller 510 is configured to be rotatable while supporting the wheel 101 of the vehicle 100. In the present embodiment, the roller equipment 500 has a roller unit 511 for each wheel 101. In the present embodiment, the roller unit 511 has two rollers 510, namely, a front roller 510A and a rear roller 510B. The front roller 510A is disposed on the +X direction side of the rear roller 510B. That is, the roller equipment 500 is configured to support each wheel 101 with two rollers 510 and includes a total of eight rollers 510. In FIG. 2, the rollers 510 are hatched. Note that in other embodiments, one roller unit 511 configured to support the left and right wheels 101 together may be provided for each of the pair of front wheels and the pair of rear wheels. Further, the roller unit 511 may be configured to support, for example, one front wheel with a roller 510 and one rear wheel with two rollers 510, or may be configured to support one front wheel with two rollers 510 and one rear wheel with two rollers 510.

[0017] The equipment sensor 530 includes, for example, a rotation speed sensor that detects the rotation speed of the roller 510.

[0018] The roller braking unit 540 brakes the rotation of the roller 510. The roller braking unit 540 is configured as, for example, an eddy current brake or a friction brake. The roller braking unit 540 as an eddy current brake generates magnetic flux due to eddy currents in the roller 510 using an electromagnet, and generates an interaction between the magnetic flux due to the electromagnet and the magnetic flux due to the eddy currents, thereby generating a braking force in the opposite direction to the rotation direction of the roller 510. The braking force of the eddy current brake can be controlled by changing the magnitude of the current supplied to the electromagnet and changing the magnetic flux density of the electromagnetic force. The roller braking unit 540 as a friction brake brakes the rotation of the roller 510, for example, by bringing a friction pad into contact with the rotation shaft of the roller 510. In this case, the braking force of the friction brake can be controlled by operating the friction pad to change the degree of contact between the friction pad and the roller 510. The degree of contact is represented as, for example, the magnitude of the contact pressure. Note that the configuration of the roller braking unit 540 is not limited to the above, and may be any configuration as long as it can brake the rotation of the roller 510.

[0019] The roller control device 520 controls each part of the roller equipment 500. The roller control device 520 is constituted by a computer including a processor 521, a memory 522, an input / output interface 523, and an internal bus. The processor 521, the memory 522, and the input / output interface 523 are connected to be communicable bidirectionally via the internal bus. The roller control device 520 includes a communication device (not shown) and can communicate with other devices such as the server 200 by wired communication or wireless communication. The processor 521 realizes various functions including the function as the resistance control unit 526 by executing the program PG3 stored in the memory 522.

[0020] The resistance control unit 526 controls the roller rotation resistance, which is the rotational resistance of the driven rotation of the roller 510. More specifically, the resistance control unit 526 controls the roller rotation resistance by controlling the roller braking unit 540. Hereinafter, the rotational resistance of the driving rotation of the wheel 101 is also referred to as the wheel rotation resistance.

[0021] In this embodiment, the roller equipment 500 is used for energy efficiency testing and discharge processing of the vehicle 100. The energy efficiency test is a test to measure the energy efficiency of the vehicle 100 while the wheels 101 of the vehicle 100 are supported by the rollers 510. Energy efficiency is expressed, for example, as the distance traveled by the vehicle 100 per unit power consumption of the battery 102 (km / kWh).

[0022] The details of the energy consumption test are described below. First, a pre-processing step is performed prior to the energy consumption test. The pre-processing step includes a full-charging step in which the battery 102 is fully charged until the charge rate reaches 100%. After that, with the battery 102 fully charged, the energy consumption test begins.

[0023] In the energy efficiency test, the vehicle 100 is driven on the rollers 510 according to a predetermined driving mode. "Driving the vehicle 100 on the rollers 510 according to a driving mode" means performing roller driving of the vehicle 100 according to the driving mode. Roller driving means that with the vehicle 100 stationary on the rollers 510, the wheels 101 supported by the rollers 510 are driven to rotate, and the rollers 510 are driven to rotate. The driving mode is, for example, the JC08 mode or the WLTC mode, and defines the relationship between the elapsed time from the start of driving and the vehicle speed. In other words, in the energy efficiency test, the driving rotation of the wheels 101 is controlled so that acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle 100 are achieved according to the driving mode. In the energy efficiency test in this embodiment, roller driving according to the driving mode is achieved by human operation. In other embodiments, roller driving in the energy efficiency test may be achieved by unmanned operation.

[0024] In the energy consumption test, the roller rotation resistance may be controlled in accordance with the acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle 100 on the roller 510 in order to reproduce the running resistance of the vehicle 100 on an actual road surface. In this case, the values ​​related to the roller rotation resistance in the energy consumption test may be stored, for example, in the memory 522 of the roller control device 520, the memory of the server 200 described later, or the memory of the vehicle control device of the vehicle 100 described later. The values ​​related to the roller rotation resistance referred to here are control values ​​and measured values ​​related to the roller rotation resistance. The values ​​related to the roller rotation resistance may be, for example, the magnetic flux density value and current value in an eddy current brake, or the contact pressure in a friction brake. In addition, in the energy consumption test, for example, a blower that blows air onto the vehicle 100 may be used in order to reproduce the air resistance of the vehicle 100 during actual driving. In this case, for example, the control values ​​and measured values ​​of the airflow rate in the energy consumption test may be stored in the memory 522, for example, similar to the values ​​related to the roller rotation resistance.

[0025] In the energy consumption test in this embodiment, roller running is performed for one cycle according to the running mode. Energy consumption is calculated based on the distance traveled for one cycle of the running mode of the vehicle 100 and the power of the battery 102 consumed according to the roller running for one cycle of the running mode. In this case, the distance traveled may be calculated, for example, based on the rotational speed of the roller 510 detected by the equipment sensor 530, or based on the running mode used in the energy consumption test. The calculation of energy consumption may be performed, for example, by the processor 521 of the roller control device 520, by the processor of the server 200 described later, or by the processor of the vehicle control device of the vehicle 100 described later. The calculated energy consumption is stored in memory 522 or the like, for example, similar to the value related to the roller rotation resistance. Also, for example, the rotational speed and peripheral speed of the roller 510 in the energy consumption test may be stored in memory 522 or the like, similar to the energy consumption. The peripheral speed of the roller equipment 500 can be calculated, for example, based on the rotational speed of the roller 510 and the diameter of the roller 510. In roller running, the rotational speed and peripheral speed of roller 510 correspond to the rotational speed and peripheral speed of wheel 101. Furthermore, the peripheral speed of wheel 101 corresponds to the vehicle speed of vehicle 100.

[0026] In the energy consumption test in this embodiment, as described above, only one cycle of roller running is performed, resulting in relatively little power being consumed by the battery 102. As a result, after the completion of the energy consumption test, the charge level of the battery 102 is maintained at a relatively high charge level, for example, 70% to 90%. In other embodiments, the energy consumption test may be a test in which the energy consumption is measured by performing roller running for multiple cycles of driving modes until it becomes impossible to perform roller running according to the driving mode, and then fully charging the battery 102. In this case, the energy consumption may be calculated based on the distance traveled by the vehicle 100 for multiple cycles of driving modes and the amount of electricity used to fully charge the battery 102 after the completion of the roller running. After the completion of such an energy consumption test, the charge level of the battery 102 approaches 100% because the battery 102 is fully charged after the completion of the roller running.

[0027] The discharge process involves driving the vehicle 100 on rollers using unmanned operation control to consume power from the battery 102 so that its charge level falls below a predetermined target value. The discharge process is performed to intentionally discharge the battery 102 from the standpoint of managing the charge level of the battery 102. The target value of the charge level is set to a value low enough to suppress degradation of the battery 102 due to an excessively high charge level, and a value high enough to suppress degradation of the battery 102 due to an excessively low charge level. The target value is, for example, 20% to 70%, and in this embodiment, it is 30% to 60%, and more specifically, 40% to 50% or higher.

[0028] Multiple external sensors 300 are installed along the track TR in the factory fuel cell (FC). The position of each external sensor 300 in the factory FC is pre-adjusted. The external sensors 300 are sensors located outside the vehicle 100. In this embodiment, the external sensors 300 are configured as cameras. The cameras as external sensors 300 capture images of the vehicle 100 and output the captured images as detection results. The external sensors 300 are equipped with a communication device (not shown) and can communicate with other devices such as a server 200 via wired or wireless communication.

[0029] Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of system 50. The vehicle 100 includes a vehicle control device 110 for controlling various parts of the vehicle 100, an actuator group 120 including one or more actuators driven under the control of the vehicle control device 110, a communication device 130 for communicating wirelessly with external devices such as a server 200, and auxiliary equipment 140. The actuator group 120 includes actuators for the drive system to accelerate the vehicle 100, actuators for the steering system to change the direction of travel of the vehicle 100, and actuators for the braking system to decelerate the vehicle 100. The drive system includes a battery 102, a motor 103, and drive wheels rotated by the motor 103. The actuators for the drive system include the motor 103.

[0030] The vehicle control device 110 is composed of a computer comprising a processor 111, a memory 112, an input / output interface 113, and an internal bus 114. The processor 111, the memory 112, and the input / output interface 113 are connected via the internal bus 114 to enable bidirectional communication. The input / output interface 113 is connected to an actuator group 120 and a communication device 130. The processor 111 implements various functions, including those of a vehicle control unit 115, by executing a program PG1 stored in the memory 112.

[0031] The auxiliary equipment 140 consumes power from the battery 102. More specifically, the auxiliary equipment 140 consists of various devices that operate using power from the battery 102, such as a car audio system, air conditioner, power windows, lights, door locks, wipers, brakes, and a car navigation system. The auxiliary equipment 140 may also be configured to operate using power from an auxiliary battery that can be charged by power from the battery 102.

[0032] The vehicle control unit 115 drives the vehicle 100 by controlling the actuator group 120. The vehicle control unit 115 can drive the vehicle 100 by controlling the actuator group 120 using the driving control signal received from the server 200. The driving control signal is a control signal for driving the vehicle 100. In this embodiment, the driving control signal includes the acceleration and steering angle of the vehicle 100 as parameters. In other embodiments, the driving control signal may include the speed of the vehicle 100 as a parameter instead of, or in addition to, the acceleration of the vehicle 100.

[0033] Furthermore, the vehicle control unit 115 operates the auxiliary equipment 140 by controlling it. In this embodiment, the vehicle control unit 115 can receive auxiliary equipment control signals from the server 200 and operate the auxiliary equipment 140 using the received auxiliary equipment control signals.

[0034] The server 200 is composed of a computer comprising a processor 201, memory 202, input / output interface 203, and internal bus 204. The processor 201, memory 202, and input / output interface 203 are connected via the internal bus 204 to enable bidirectional communication. A communication device 205 for communicating with various external devices of the server 200 is connected to the input / output interface 203. The communication device 205 can communicate with the vehicle 100 by wireless communication and can communicate with each external sensor 300 by wired or wireless communication. The memory 202 stores various information such as program PG2, detection model DM, reference path RR, target value data TD, and driving control data RD. The processor 201 realizes various functions, including the function of a remote control unit 210, by executing program PG2 stored in memory 202. The remote control unit 210 in this embodiment corresponds to the "control unit" in this disclosure.

[0035] The remote control unit 210 generates a driving control signal to control the actuator group 120 of the vehicle 100 and transmits the driving control signal to the vehicle 100, thereby driving the vehicle 100 by remote control. In this embodiment, the remote control unit 210 generates not only a driving control signal but also an auxiliary equipment control signal, which is a control signal for controlling the auxiliary equipment 140, and transmits the auxiliary equipment control signal to the vehicle 100.

[0036] In this embodiment, the remote control unit 210 performs a discharge process. More specifically, in the discharge process, the remote control unit 210 generates a driving control signal while the vehicle 100 is supported by the rollers 510, and transmits the generated driving control signal to the vehicle 100 on the rollers 510. As a result, the wheels 101 supported by the rollers 510 rotate. In the discharge process in this embodiment, the remote control unit 210 generates a driving control signal according to, for example, the driving control data RD. The driving control data RD may be, for example, data representing a control value for the vehicle speed, or data defining the relationship between elapsed time and vehicle speed or acceleration.

[0037] In this embodiment, the remote control unit 210 obtains the target value of the charge rate during the discharge process by referring to the target value data TD stored in the memory 202. The target value data TD is data representing the target value of the charge rate. In other embodiments, the target value of the charge rate may be obtained from, for example, an external recording medium or computer outside the server 200.

[0038] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the remote control unit 210 drives the wheels 101 to rotate in the discharge process so that the average value of the rotational speed of the wheels 101 is greater than in the case of the energy efficiency test. Such control may be achieved, for example, by controlling the movement of the vehicle 100 in the discharge process so that the average value of the vehicle speed of the vehicle 100 on the rollers 510, i.e., the average value of the peripheral speed of the wheels 101, is greater than in the case of the energy efficiency test. Alternatively, such control may be achieved, for example, by performing roller running at a vehicle speed greater than the maximum vehicle speed specified in the driving mode of the energy efficiency test for the entire duration of the discharge process. In this embodiment, the driving control data RD is defined as data that enables such control. In the discharge process, the rotational speed of the wheels 101 and the vehicle speed in the energy efficiency test are obtained, for example, from memory 522, memory 202, or memory 112.

[0039] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure for vehicle 100 driving control in the first embodiment. In the processing procedure shown in Figure 4, the processor 201 of the server 200 functions as a remote control unit 210 by executing program PG2. The processor 111 of the vehicle 100 functions as a vehicle control unit 115 by executing program PG1.

[0040] In step S1, the processor 201 of the server 200 acquires vehicle position information using the detection results output from the external sensor 300. The vehicle position information is the position information that forms the basis for generating the driving control signal. In this embodiment, the vehicle position information includes the position and orientation of the vehicle 100 in the global coordinate system GC of the factory FC. Specifically, in step S1, the processor 201 acquires vehicle position information using the captured image acquired from the camera, which is the external sensor 300.

[0041] In detail, in step S1, the processor 201 detects the outline of the vehicle 100 from the captured image, calculates the coordinates of the vehicle 100's positioning point in the coordinate system of the captured image, i.e., the local coordinate system, and obtains the position of the vehicle 100 by converting the calculated coordinates to coordinates in the global coordinate system GC. The outline of the vehicle 100 included in the captured image can be detected, for example, by inputting the captured image into a detection model DM that utilizes artificial intelligence. The detection model DM is prepared, for example, within or outside the system 50 and pre-stored in the memory 202 of the server 200. Examples of the detection model DM include a pre-trained machine learning model that has been trained to implement either semantic segmentation or instance segmentation. As this machine learning model, for example, a convolutional neural network (CNN) trained by supervised learning using a training dataset can be used. The training dataset includes, for example, multiple training images including the vehicle 100, and labels indicating whether each region in the training image represents the vehicle 100 or a region other than the vehicle 100. During CNN training, it is preferable that the CNN parameters be updated using backpropagation to reduce the error between the output result of the detection model DM and the label. Furthermore, the processor 201 can obtain the orientation of vehicle 100 by, for example, using the optical flow method, estimating the orientation of the vehicle 100's movement vector calculated from the positional changes of the vehicle 100's feature points between frames of the captured image.

[0042] In step S2, the processor 201 of the server 200 determines the next target location that the vehicle 100 should head to. In this embodiment, the target location is represented by X, Y, Z coordinates in the global coordinate system GC. The memory 202 of the server 200 pre-stores a reference route RR, which is the path that the vehicle 100 should travel. The route is represented by a node indicating the starting point, nodes indicating waypoints, a node indicating the destination, and links connecting each node. The processor 201 uses the vehicle position information and the reference route RR to determine the next target location that the vehicle 100 should head to. The processor 201 determines the target location on the reference route RR beyond the vehicle 100's current location.

[0043] In step S3, the processor 201 of the server 200 generates a driving control signal to drive the vehicle 100 toward the determined target position. The processor 201 calculates the vehicle's speed from the change in the vehicle's position and compares the calculated speed with the target speed. Overall, the processor 201 determines the acceleration so that the vehicle 100 accelerates if the speed is lower than the target speed, and determines the acceleration so that the vehicle 100 decelerates if the speed is higher than the target speed. Furthermore, if the vehicle 100 is located on the reference path RR, the processor 201 determines the steering angle and acceleration so that the vehicle 100 does not deviate from the reference path RR, and if the vehicle 100 is not located on the reference path RR, in other words, if the vehicle 100 has deviated from the reference path RR, the processor 201 determines the steering angle and acceleration so that the vehicle 100 returns to the reference path RR.

[0044] In step S4, the processor 201 of the server 200 transmits the generated driving control signal to the vehicle 100. The processor 201 repeats the acquisition of vehicle position information, determination of target position, generation of driving control signal, and transmission of driving control signal at predetermined intervals.

[0045] In step S5, the processor 111 of the vehicle 100 receives a driving control signal transmitted from the server 200. In step S6, the processor 111 of the vehicle 100 controls the actuator group 120 using the received driving control signal, thereby driving the vehicle 100 at the acceleration and steering angle indicated in the driving control signal. The processor 111 repeats the reception of the driving control signal and the control of the actuator group 120 at predetermined intervals. According to the system 50 in this embodiment, the vehicle 100 can be driven by remote control, and the vehicle 100 can be moved without using transport equipment such as cranes or conveyors.

[0046] Figure 5 is a process diagram showing a predetermined process included in the manufacturing process of the vehicle 100 in this embodiment. As shown in Figure 5, the predetermined process includes a pre-treatment process, an energy consumption test process for conducting energy consumption tests, and a discharge process for conducting discharge treatments. In this embodiment, the predetermined process is started after various assembly processes for completing the vehicle 100 and various inspection processes for inspecting the vehicle 100 have been carried out.

[0047] In step S110, a pre-processing step is performed. In this embodiment, at least the full-charging step of the pre-processing step is performed on the roller 510 at the second location PL2. Therefore, in this embodiment, the vehicle 100 is moved onto the roller 510 before step S110 begins. In this embodiment, the movement of the vehicle 100 onto the roller 510 is achieved by unmanned operation. In other embodiments, this movement may be achieved by manned operation, by manual work by workers in the factory FC or by conveying equipment, or by any combination of unmanned operation, manned operation, manual work and conveying equipment. In other embodiments, pre-processing steps such as the full-charging step do not have to be performed on the roller 510.

[0048] In step S120, an energy consumption test is conducted.

[0049] In step S130, the discharge process is performed. In step S130 of this embodiment, after the completion of the energy consumption test in step S120, the remote control unit 210 performs the discharge process while the wheels 101 are still supported by the rollers 510, that is, without removing the vehicle 100 from the rollers 510.

[0050] In step S140, the vehicle 100 is moved to a waiting area, i.e., the third location PL3. In this embodiment, the movement of the vehicle 100 to the third location PL3 is achieved by unmanned operation. In other embodiments, this movement may be achieved by manned operation, by manual work by workers in the factory FC or by conveying equipment, or by any combination of unmanned operation, manned operation, manual work and conveying equipment.

[0051] According to the system 50 of this embodiment described above, during the discharge process, power from the battery 102 is consumed by roller driving using unmanned operation control so that the charge level of the battery 102 falls below a target value. Therefore, the battery 102 can be efficiently discharged without moving the vehicle 100 by using unmanned operation control.

[0052] Furthermore, in this embodiment, during the discharge process, an auxiliary device 140 that consumes power from the battery 102 is also operated, allowing the battery 102 to be discharged more efficiently.

[0053] Furthermore, in this embodiment, after the completion of the energy consumption test, the discharge process is performed while the wheels 101 remain supported by the rollers 510. Therefore, the battery 102, which has maintained a relatively high charge level due to the energy consumption test, can be effectively discharged. Moreover, the energy consumption test and the discharge process can be performed consecutively without removing the vehicle 100 from the rollers 510, allowing for smoother execution of both the energy consumption test and the discharge process.

[0054] Furthermore, in this embodiment, during the discharge process, the wheels 101 are driven to rotate in such a way that the average number of rotations of the wheels 101 is greater than in the case of the energy consumption test. Therefore, the battery 102 can be discharged more efficiently during the discharge process.

[0055] In other embodiments, the resistance control unit 526 may control the roller rotation resistance during the discharge process by controlling the braking force of the roller braking unit 540 so that the average value of the roller rotation resistance is greater than in the case of the energy consumption test. In this case, the resistance control unit 526 may control the braking force of the roller braking unit 540 based on values ​​related to the roller rotation resistance stored in, for example, memory 522, memory 202, or memory 112. The remote control unit 210 may initiate such control by sending a trigger signal to the roller control device 520 when the discharge process begins. This control may also be achieved, for example, by controlling the roller rotation resistance during the discharge process so that it is always greater than the maximum value of the roller rotation resistance in the energy consumption test. According to this embodiment, the wheel rotation resistance can be increased during the discharge process, and the battery 102 can be discharged more efficiently while suppressing an increase in the rotation speed of the wheel 101.

[0056] B. Second Embodiment: Figure 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the schematic configuration of system 50v in the second embodiment. In this embodiment, system 50v differs from the first embodiment in that it does not have a server 200. Since the vehicle's equipment configuration in this embodiment is the same as in the first embodiment, for convenience, the vehicle in this embodiment will be referred to as vehicle 100. Vehicle 100 in this embodiment is capable of driving by autonomous control of vehicle 100. The other configurations are the same as in the first embodiment unless otherwise specified.

[0057] In this embodiment, the communication device 130 of the vehicle 100 can communicate with the external sensor 300 and the roller equipment 500. The processor 111 of the vehicle control device 110 functions as a vehicle control unit 115v by executing the program PG1 stored in the memory 112. The vehicle control unit 115v generates a driving control signal and outputs the generated driving control signal to operate the actuator group 120, thereby enabling the vehicle 100 to be driven autonomously. The vehicle control unit 115v can also generate an auxiliary control signal and output the generated auxiliary control signal to operate the auxiliary equipment 140. In this embodiment, in addition to the program PG1, the memory 112 pre-stores the detection model DM, the reference path RR, the target value data TD, and the driving control data RD. The vehicle control unit 115v in the second embodiment corresponds to the "control unit" in this disclosure.

[0058] Figure 7 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure for vehicle 100 driving control in the second embodiment. In the processing procedure shown in Figure 7, the processor 111 of the vehicle 100 functions as a vehicle control unit 115v by executing the program PG1.

[0059] In step S901, the processor 111 of the vehicle control device 110 acquires vehicle position information using the detection result output from the camera, which is an external sensor 300. In step S902, the processor 111 determines the target position to which the vehicle 100 should next go. In step S903, the processor 111 generates a driving control signal to drive the vehicle 100 toward the determined target position. In step S904, the processor 111 controls the actuator group 120 using the generated driving control signal to drive the vehicle 100 according to the parameters expressed in the driving control signal. The processor 111 repeats the acquisition of vehicle position information, determination of the target position, generation of the driving control signal, and control of the actuators at a predetermined cycle. According to the system 50v in this embodiment, the vehicle 100 can be driven by autonomous control of the vehicle 100 without remote control of the vehicle 100 by the server 200.

[0060] In this embodiment, the same predetermined steps as in Figure 5 are performed. However, in step S130 of Figure 5, the discharge process is performed by the vehicle control unit 115v. More specifically, in the discharge process, the vehicle control unit 115v generates a driving control signal while the vehicle 100 is supported by the rollers 510, and outputs the generated driving control signal to control the actuator group 120, thereby driving and rotating the wheels 101 supported by the rollers 510. Furthermore, in the discharge process, the vehicle control unit 115v also generates an auxiliary control signal and outputs the generated auxiliary control signal to operate the auxiliary equipment 140.

[0061] With the system 50V in the second embodiment described above, the battery 102 can be efficiently discharged without moving the vehicle 100 by utilizing unmanned operation control.

[0062] C. Other embodiments: (C1) In each of the above embodiments, the vehicle 100 may have a rapid discharge mode. The rapid discharge mode is a mode for discharging the battery 102 more rapidly, and is, for example, a mode for operating various auxiliary equipment 140 mounted on the vehicle 100 all at once. In this case, mode transitions between the rapid discharge mode and the normal mode (which is not the rapid discharge mode) may be achieved by predetermined operations of the drive system, braking system, and steering system of the vehicle 100. For example, mode transitions may be achieved by operating the brake pedal or shift lever a predetermined number of times. In this way, for example, the server 200 can operate various auxiliary equipment 140 all at once by generating and transmitting a predetermined driving control signal, without having to generate and transmit auxiliary control signals for each auxiliary equipment 140 individually during the discharge process.

[0063] (C2) In each of the above embodiments, the auxiliary equipment 140 is operated during the discharge process, but the auxiliary equipment 140 does not need to be operated.

[0064] (C3) In each of the above embodiments, the discharge process is performed while the wheels 101 remain supported on the rollers 510 after the completion of the energy consumption test, but this is not limited to this. For example, the discharge process may be performed after the vehicle 100 has been lowered from the rollers 510 after the completion of the energy consumption test. In this case, the discharge process may be performed using the roller equipment 500, or using roller equipment different from the roller equipment 500. Furthermore, the energy consumption test does not have to be performed prior to the discharge process. In this case, for example, the energy consumption test may not be included in the manufacturing process of the vehicle 100.

[0065] (C4) In each of the above embodiments, the wheels 101 are driven to rotate in the discharge process such that the average number of rotations of the wheels 101 is greater than in the case of the energy consumption test. However, such control is not required.

[0066] (C5) In each of the above embodiments, the discharge process may be performed by electrically connecting external equipment to the vehicle 100 and consuming power from the battery 102 through the operation of the external equipment, thereby causing the battery 102 to discharge more rapidly. In this case, the connection of external equipment to the vehicle 100 and the operation of external equipment may be performed by work equipment such as a robot under the control of, for example, a server 200, a vehicle control device 110, or a roller control device 520.

[0067] (C6) In each of the above embodiments, the resistance control unit 526 is provided in the roller equipment 500, but is not limited thereto. For example, the resistance control unit 526 may be provided in the server 200 or the vehicle 100. Also, in the system 50, some or all of the functional units such as the "control unit" and the resistance control unit 526 in this disclosure may be provided in devices outside the server 200 and the vehicle 100, for example.

[0068] (C7) In each of the above embodiments, the external sensor 300 is not limited to a camera, but may be, for example, a rangefinder. The rangefinder is, for example, LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging). In this case, the detection result output by the external sensor 300 may be 3D point cloud data representing the vehicle 100.

[0069] (C8) In the first embodiment described above, the server 200 performs the processing from acquiring vehicle position information to generating a driving control signal. In contrast, the vehicle 100 may perform at least a part of the processing from acquiring vehicle position information to generating a driving control signal. For example, the following forms (1) to (3) may be used.

[0070] (1) The server 200 may acquire vehicle location information, determine the next target location that vehicle 100 should head to, and generate a route from the vehicle 100's current location, as shown in the acquired vehicle location information, to the target location. The server 200 may generate a route to the target location between the current location and the destination, or it may generate a route to the destination. The server 200 may transmit the generated route to vehicle 100. Vehicle 100 may generate a driving control signal so that vehicle 100 travels along the route received from the server 200, and may use the generated driving control signal to control the actuator group 120.

[0071] (2) The server 200 may acquire vehicle location information and transmit the acquired vehicle location information to the vehicle 100. The vehicle 100 may determine the next target location to which the vehicle 100 should go, generate a route from the vehicle 100's current location shown in the received vehicle location information to the target location, generate a driving control signal so that the vehicle 100 travels along the generated route, and control the actuator group 120 using the generated driving control signal.

[0072] (3) In the embodiments of (1) and (2) above, the vehicle 100 is equipped with internal sensors, and the detection results output from the internal sensors may be used in at least one of the generation of a route and the generation of a driving control signal. The internal sensors are sensors mounted on the vehicle 100. Examples of internal sensors include cameras, LiDAR, millimeter-wave radar, ultrasonic sensors, GPS sensors, acceleration sensors, gyro sensors, etc. For example, in the embodiment of (1) above, the server 200 may acquire the detection results of the internal sensors and reflect the detection results of the internal sensors in the route when generating a route. In the embodiment of (1) above, the vehicle 100 may acquire the detection results of the internal sensors and reflect the detection results of the internal sensors in the driving control signal when generating a driving control signal. In the embodiment of (2) above, the vehicle 100 may acquire the detection results of the internal sensors and reflect the detection results of the internal sensors in the route when generating a route. In the embodiment of (2) above, the vehicle 100 may acquire the detection results of the internal sensors and reflect the detection results of the internal sensors in the driving control signal when generating a driving control signal.

[0073] (C9) In the second embodiment described above, the vehicle 100 is equipped with an internal sensor, and the detection result output from the internal sensor may be used in at least one of the generation of the route and the generation of the driving control signal. For example, the vehicle 100 may acquire the detection result from the internal sensor and reflect the detection result from the internal sensor in the route when generating the route. The vehicle 100 may acquire the detection result from the internal sensor and reflect the detection result from the internal sensor in the driving control signal when generating the driving control signal.

[0074] (C10) In the second embodiment described above, the vehicle 100 acquires vehicle position information using the detection results of the external sensor 300. In contrast, the vehicle 100 may be equipped with an internal sensor, and the vehicle 100 may acquire vehicle position information using the detection results of the internal sensor, determine the next target location to which the vehicle 100 should go, generate a route from the vehicle 100's current location shown in the acquired vehicle position information to the target location, generate a driving control signal for driving along the generated route, and control the actuator group 120 using the generated driving control signal. In this case, the vehicle 100 can drive without using the detection results of the external sensor 300 at all. The vehicle 100 may also acquire the target arrival time and congestion information from outside the vehicle 100 and reflect the target arrival time and congestion information in at least one of the route and the driving control signal. Furthermore, all the functional configurations of the system 50v may be provided in the vehicle 100. That is, the processing realized by the system 50v in this disclosure may be realized by the vehicle 100 alone.

[0075] (C11) In the first embodiment described above, the server 200 automatically generates a driving control signal to be transmitted to the vehicle 100. Alternatively, the server 200 may generate a driving control signal to be transmitted to the vehicle 100 in accordance with the operation of an external operator located outside the vehicle 100. For example, the external operator may operate a control device that includes a display for displaying captured images output from the external sensor 300, a steering wheel for remotely controlling the vehicle 100, an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, and a communication device for communicating with the server 200 via wired or wireless communication, and the server 200 may generate a driving control signal in accordance with the operation applied to the control device.

[0076] (C12) In each of the above embodiments, the vehicle 100 only needs to have a configuration that allows it to move by unmanned operation, and may take the form of a platform having the configuration described below. Specifically, in order for the vehicle 100 to perform the three functions of "driving," "turning," and "stopping" by unmanned operation, it is sufficient to have at least a vehicle control device 110 and an actuator group 120. When the vehicle 100 acquires information from the outside for unmanned operation, the vehicle 100 may further have a communication device 130. That is, the vehicle 100 that can move by unmanned operation does not need to have at least some of the interior parts such as the driver's seat and dashboard attached, at least some of the exterior parts such as the bumper and fenders attached, and does not need to have a body shell attached. In this case, the remaining parts such as the body shell may be attached to the vehicle 100 before the vehicle 100 is shipped from the factory FC, or the remaining parts such as the body shell may be attached to the vehicle 100 after the vehicle 100 has been shipped from the factory FC without the remaining parts such as the body shell attached to the vehicle 100. Each component may be attached to the vehicle 100 from any direction, such as the top, bottom, front, rear, right, or left side, and may be attached from the same direction or from different directions. The positioning of the platform can also be determined in the same way as for the vehicle 100 in the first embodiment.

[0077] (C13) Vehicle 100 may be manufactured by combining multiple modules. A module means a unit composed of one or more parts grouped together according to the configuration and function of vehicle 100. For example, the platform of vehicle 100 may be manufactured by combining a front module that constitutes the front part of the platform, a central module that constitutes the central part of the platform, and a rear module that constitutes the rear part of the platform. The number of modules that make up the platform is not limited to three, and may be two or fewer, or four or more. In addition to the platform, or in place of the platform, parts of vehicle 100 other than the platform may be modularized. Various modules may also include arbitrary exterior parts such as bumpers and grilles, or arbitrary interior parts such as seats and consoles. Such modules may be manufactured, for example, by joining multiple parts by welding or fasteners, or by integrally molding at least a part of the module as a single part by casting. The molding method of integrally molding at least a part of a module as a single part is also called gigacast or megacast. By using Gigacast, parts of the vehicle 100 that were conventionally formed by joining multiple parts can be formed as single parts. For example, the front module, central module, and rear module mentioned above may be manufactured using Gigacast.

[0078] (C14) Transporting vehicle 100 using the unmanned operation of vehicle 100 is also called "autonomous transport." The configuration for realizing autonomous transport is also called a "vehicle remote control autonomous driving transport system." Furthermore, a production method that uses autonomous transport to produce vehicle 100 is also called "autonomous production." In autonomous production, for example, at a factory FC that manufactures vehicle 100, at least a portion of the transport of vehicle 100 is realized by autonomous transport.

[0079] In each of the above embodiments, some or all of the functions and processes implemented in software may be implemented in hardware. Conversely, some or all of the functions and processes implemented in hardware may be implemented in software. As hardware for implementing the various functions in each of the above embodiments, various circuits such as integrated circuits and discrete circuits may be used.

[0080] This disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be implemented in various configurations without departing from its spirit. For example, the technical features in the embodiments corresponding to the technical features in each form described in the summary of the invention can be replaced or combined as appropriate in order to solve some or all of the above-described problems, or to achieve some or all of the above-described effects. Furthermore, if a technical feature is not described as essential in this specification, it can be deleted as appropriate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0081] 50, 50V... System, 100... Vehicle, 101... Wheel, 102... Battery, 103... Motor, 110... Vehicle control device, 111... Processor, 112... Memory, 113... Input / Output interface, 114... Internal bus, 115, 115V... Vehicle control unit, 120... Actuator group, 130... Communication device, 140... Auxiliary equipment, 200... Server, 201... Processor, 202... Memory, 203... Input / Output interface, 204... Internal bus, 205... Communication device, 210... Remote control unit, 300... External sensor, 500... Roller equipment, 510... Roller, 510A... Front roller, 510B... Rear roller, 511... Roller unit, 520... Roller control device, 521... Processor, 522... Memory, 523... Input / Output interface, 526... Resistance control unit, 530... Equipment sensor, 540... Roller braking unit

Claims

1. A vehicle capable of being driven by unmanned operation control, and having a battery for driving, A roller apparatus having rollers that can rotate while supporting the wheels of the aforementioned vehicle, A system comprising: a control unit that drives the wheel supported by the roller to rotate by the unmanned operation control, and drives the roller to rotate, thereby performing a discharge process that consumes the power of the battery so that the battery's charge level falls below a predetermined target value.

2. The system according to claim 1, The control unit is a system that, in the discharge process, further operates an auxiliary device mounted on the vehicle that consumes power from the battery.

3. A system according to claim 1 or 2, The control unit measures the vehicle's energy consumption while the wheel is supported by the roller, and after the energy consumption test is completed, it performs the discharge process while maintaining the state in which the wheel is supported by the roller.

4. The system according to claim 3, The control unit drives the wheels to rotate in the discharge process such that the average number of wheel rotations is greater than in the case of the energy consumption test.

5. The system according to claim 3, further, A system comprising a resistance control unit that controls the rotational resistance in the discharge process such that the average value of the rotational resistance of the driven rotation of the roller is greater than in the case of the power consumption test.

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