Applications that use vehicle mass estimation

Abstract

To provide a method for using mass of a vehicle to control an operation and a system of the vehicle itself.SOLUTION: The present invention relates to various applications for using mass estimation of vehicles, which include: controlling operations of the vehicles; sharing the mass estimation with other vehicles and / or network operation centers (NOCs); organizing the vehicles that travel on a platoon; and / or partially controlling operation of one or more platooning vehicles based on a relative mass estimation between the platooning vehicles. In the case that the vehicles are operating in platoon, torque and / or brake commands generated by the lead vehicle and transmitted to the trailing vehicle are scaled using the relative mass between the lead vehicle and the trailing vehicle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is a "System and Method for Platooning Vehicles" s for Vehicular Platooning and Methods T International application PCT / PCT / PCT2017 / 08 / 02 entitled "Patent Application No. PCT / PCT2017 / 08 / 02" filed on August 21, 2017, entitled "Patent Application No. PCT / PCT2017 / 08 / 02" Priority is claimed to US2017 / 047771 (PEL1P005WO), The entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference. [Technical Field]

[0002] This application relates generally to applications using vehicle mass estimation, and more specifically to Specifically, vehicle mass estimation is used to control vehicle behavior and interact with other vehicles and / or networks. Share mass estimates with the Network Operations Center (NOC) and travel in platoons. Between vehicles traveling in formation and / or platoons of vehicles or other configurations on a road and controlling the motion of one or more vehicles traveling in a platoon based in part on the relative mass estimates of the vehicles. Regarding. [Background technology]

[0003] Vehicle mass estimation is known. More details on vehicle mass estimation can be found in Non-Patent Document 1 and and Non-Patent Document 2, both of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0004] Although algorithms for estimating vehicle mass are known, the application or use of such information is unclear. In certain vehicles, mass is used to control the car's automatic braking system (ABS). However, the applicant has not yet determined whether other in-car or other Be aware of other uses or applications of the mass estimation information you share with your vehicle or data center. not present. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] U.S. Patent Application No. 15 / 605,456 [Patent Document 2] U.S. Patent Application No. 15 / 607902 [Patent Document 3] U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 13 / 542,622 [Patent Document 4] U.S. Patent Application No. 13 / 542,627 [Patent Document 5] U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 377970 [Patent Document 6] U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 343,819 [Patent Document 7] International Application No. PCT / US2014 / 030770 [Patent Document 8] International Application No. PCT / US2016 / 049143 [Patent Document 9] International Application No. PCT / US2016 / 060167 [Patent Document 10] U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15 / 590715 [Patent Document 11] U.S. Patent Application No. 15 / 590803 [Patent Document 12] U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 489662 [Non-patent literature]

[0006] [Non-Patent Document 1] Bae et al., “Road Grade and Vehicle Parameter Estimation for Longitudinal Control Using GPS,” 2001 IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Conference Proceedings, Oakland, CA, August 25-29, 2001. [Non-patent document 2] Holm, “Vehicle Mass and Road Grade Estimation Using Kalman Filter”, MSc Thesis, Department of Electrical Engineering, Sweden, August 2011. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present application is directed to the use of vehicle mass estimation in many applications.

[0008] In some applications, the mass of the vehicle is calculated using the mass of the vehicle as part of a multi-step method. Controlling body actions and systems (e.g., throttle, brakes, steering, etc.) It is possible.

[0009] In yet another embodiment, the use of vehicle mass estimation has many applications in platooning. Such applications typically involve forming a train of cars and calculating the estimated relative mass of each car. Use to arrange vehicles to operate in a platoon and select a lead vehicle and a trailing vehicle. and transmits it from the lead vehicle to the trailing vehicle based on the relative mass of the vehicles operating in the platoon. Scale the given commands and, if possible, use vehicle mass estimation to simulate vehicle motion. Controlling the situation is one example.

[0010] In yet another embodiment, the mass estimate, or the sensor data used to calculate the mass estimate, A network operations center that can remotely adjust vehicle platooning is also available. For example, the data can be transmitted to a data processing center such as a network of exchanges (NOC). By adjusting the mass of two (or more) vehicles before joining, the vehicles At the contact point, the vehicle immediately moves to the appropriate platoon position (e.g., either the leading vehicle or the trailing vehicle). In yet another embodiment, the data used to calculate the vehicle mass estimate is A reset function is used in the processing pipeline. In one example, the first mass estimate is In parallel, a second mass estimate will be carried out over a short period of time. If they differ by more than a threshold, the calculation of the primary mass is considered to be compromised. The next mass calculation is reset and starts anew with the new sensor data. In this example, the reset function is based on (a) the vehicle stopping for more than a threshold time, and (b) the vehicle (c) based on the vehicle's GPS location; In various embodiments, the reset function can be triggered by (a) to (b). any one of (a), (b), and / or (c), or any combination of (a), (b), and / or (c) The trigger may be based on a combination of

[0011] The invention and its advantages will best be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: I can understand it well. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a controller architecture suitable for use in an automated or partially automated vehicle control system that supports platooning. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary platoon controller architecture suitable for use in the automated or partially automated vehicle control system of FIG. 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a gap controller, according to one embodiment. [Figure 4] 4A-4C are a series of diagrams illustrating different control states used by a gap regulator in accordance with one embodiment during different operating conditions. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is a state space diagram illustrating a sliding mode control scheme. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 illustrates a particular ASIL-compliant controller hardware architecture suitable for use in an automated or partially automated vehicle control system that supports platooning. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 illustrates components of a gateway, according to one embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 illustrates a method for modeling vehicle mass estimation. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 illustrates how multiple mass estimation sample points are plotted and averaged over time to arrive at a mass estimate for a vehicle. [Figure 10] 1A-1C illustrate various possibilities for reporting vehicle mass estimation according to different non-exclusive embodiments of the present application. [Figure 11] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating steps performed by a network operations center (NOC) using mass estimation data received from multiple vehicles to adjust and arrange the order of vehicles traveling in a platoon. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating how a trailing vehicle scales motion commands received from the lead vehicle of a platoon based on a relative mass estimate between the two vehicles. [Figure 13]FIG. 1 illustrates how a vehicle uses its mass estimation to control vehicle operations and systems. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 illustrates a reset function used in conjunction with the data processing pipeline used to determine a vehicle mass estimate. [Figure 15] 1 is a flowchart of steps for performing a primary mass estimation algorithm and a secondary mass estimation algorithm. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram for resetting a vehicle's mass estimate based on vehicle stop, speed, and / or position. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] The present invention will now be described with reference to some embodiments thereof, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which: The following description provides multiple examples of the present invention, possibly including one or more alternatives. A number of specific examples are provided to fully understand embodiments of the present invention, including descriptions of several different aspects. It is not possible to practice the invention without implementing all of the features disclosed herein. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that this can be done.

[0014] Platooning Applicant believes that a second, and potentially additional, vehicle may be automatically or semi-automatically controlled. Various vehicle platooning systems allow vehicles to closely follow the lead vehicle in a safe manner by For example, Patent Documents 1 to 9 propose a method in which the following vehicle is at least partially Various vehicle platooning systems are automatically controlled to closely follow a designated lead vehicle. Each of these prior applications is incorporated herein by reference. It can be enjoyed.

[0015] One of the goals of platooning is generally to achieve a desired longitudinal distance between the platooning vehicles. or maintaining a time gap, which is often referred to herein as a "desired gap" That is, a following vehicle (e.g., a following truck) is called a It is advisable to maintain a specified gap between vehicles in a platoon. Both normally start platooning, maintain a gap under a variety of different operating conditions, and It has an advanced control system suited to disbanding the Rathone with appropriate grace.

[0016] Architecture and design of a control system suitable for implementing vehicle platooning The design of a particular controller depends on the automation it is intended to achieve. the level of the host vehicle, as well as the nature of the host vehicles participating in the platoon and the availability of the host vehicles. For example, Figure 1 shows a platooning tractor-trailer truck. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a vehicle control architecture suitable for use with the The specific controller is a Platoon vehicle with an active driver in both vehicles. It is primarily designed to be used in conjunction with a steering system. The driver of the following vehicle assumes full responsibility for the control of the following vehicle. The platoon controller 110 is in charge of steering, but the platoon controller 110 mainly controls the engine traction of the following vehicles. It is responsible for controlling torque and braking demands during active platooning. While considering more automated control of one or both platoon partners, It should be understood that similar control schemes may generally be used in systems.

[0017] In the illustrated embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the platoon controller 110 controls the tractor and and / or several sensors 130 on one or more trailers or other connected units, and some actuators and tractor powertrains and other vehicle systems. The actuator controller 150 is arranged to control the operation of the system. The platoon controller 110 and the actuator controller 150 receive the An actuator interface 160 may be provided to facilitate communication between do.

[0018] The platoon controller 110 also controls the vehicle to coordinate communications with its platoon partners. Inter-communication controller 170 and network operations center 180 that coordinates communication with the NOC. The vehicle also interacts with the Network of Operations Center (NOC) communication controller 180. Preferably, the system also has a selected configuration file 190 containing known information.

[0019] Some of the functional components of the platoon controller 110 are the gap controller 112, various estimators 114, one or more partner vehicle trackers 116, and various In many applications, the platoon controller 110 may include various other The platoon controller 110 and the gap An exemplary embodiment of the controller 112 is described in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. It is explained.

[0020] Some of the sensors utilized by the platoon controller 110 are GNSS (Global Positioning System ) unit 131, wheel speed sensor 132, inertial measurement unit 134, radar unit 13 7, LIDAR unit 138, camera 139, accelerator pedal position sensor 141, steering wheel position sensor 142, brake pedal position sensor 143, and various acceleration Of course, all of these sensors can be used to Not all of these sensors are available in all vehicles, and not all of these sensors are available in any particular implementation. In other embodiments, various other sensors 149 (existing or or later developed or commercially deployed) by the platoon controller. In the main embodiment described herein, GPS position data is used. However, GPS is not a currently available global positioning satellite system. It is only one of the GNSS systems. It can therefore be used instead of or in addition to the GPS system. In addition to the S system, any other GNSS system or other suitable position sensing system It should be understood that data from these sources may also be used.

[0021] Wheel speed sensor 132, radar unit 137, accelerator pedal position sensor 141, a steering wheel position sensor 142, a brake pedal position sensor 143, and an accelerometer Many (if not all) of the sensors listed, including the 144, are designed for pulling semi-trailers. This is relatively standard equipment on modern trucks (tractors) used for this purpose. , the GNSS unit 131 and the LIDAR unit 138 (if used), etc. Others are not currently standard equipment on such tractors or are not specifically May not be present in the vehicle and may be used as needed or provided to assist with platooning. It can be installed as desired.

[0022] Vehicle actuators that can be at least partially directed by the platoon controller Part of the engine controller 150 is an engine torque controller 152 (often Integrated functionality in the engine control unit (ECU) or powertrain control module (PCM) ), transmission controller 154, brake controller 156 , steering controller 157 (if automatic steering is provided), and Of course, all of these actuator controllers Not available or required in any particular embodiment, controlled vehicle interface with a variety of other vehicle actuator controllers 159 also available Therefore, it may be desirable to have platoon control on any particular controlled vehicle. The particular actuator controller 150 directed or utilized by the controller It should be understood that the values ​​may vary widely. The capabilities of the controller (e.g., engine torque controller 152) and its interface ( For example, the commands, instructions, requests, and messages that it can process or generate. The nature and type of actuator controller will depend on the make and model of the particular actuator controller. Therefore, requests, commands, messages from the platoon controller 110 The messages and commands are transmitted to the specific actuator controller hardware utilized in the controlled vehicle. To convert the actuator into a format suitable for your hardware and software, Preferably, an actuator interface 160 is provided. receives messages, commands, instructions and It also provides a mechanism for communicating / translating requests to the platoon controller 110. Generally, appropriate actions are required to interact with each particular vehicle controller utilized. In various embodiments, this is an engine tray. 161, brake interface 162, transmission interface interface 164, retarder interface 165 (if a separate retarder controller is used) if applicable), steering interface 167, and / or any other suitable control The controller interface 169 may include one or more of the following:

[0023] Large trucks and other large vehicles often have multiple brakes to "brake" the truck. These include conventional brake systems mounted on the vehicle wheels. This includes a brake assembly, which is often referred to in the industry as a "foundation brake." Most large trucks / vehicles also have a mechanism called a "retarder" This augments the foundation braking, slowing the vehicle or preventing it from accelerating downhill. In many cases, retarders act as an alternative mechanism to help reduce engine torque. In such an embodiment, the appropriate torque command (which may be negative) to the engine torque controller 152. In another embodiment, a separate retarder controller (not shown) can be used. ) is accessible to the platoon controller 110 via a suitable retarder interface 165. accessible and therefore directed by the platoon controller 110. In this embodiment, the platoon controller 110 controls the actuator interface 16 In such an embodiment, the actuator may independently determine the retarder command to send to the actuator. The retarder interface interprets the retarder command and generates the appropriate retarder control command. to the ECU or other appropriate vehicle controller.

[0024] Communication between vehicles may be directed over any suitable channel and may be performed by a vehicle-to-vehicle communication controller. For example, a two-way communication system developed for vehicle-to-vehicle communication may be used. Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) protocol (e.g., , IEEE802.11p protocol) works well. Of course, DSRC links Other communication protocols and channels may be used in addition to or instead of the DSRC link. For example, vehicle-to-vehicle communication may additionally or alternatively be implemented using 4G LTE Direct , 5G, Citizen's Band (CB) radio channel, one or more General l Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) band and one or more F Federal Radio Service (FRS) bands, or any suitable communications protocol cellular communications, such as any other existing or later developed communications channel that uses the The data can be transmitted via a communication channel.

[0025] In various embodiments, the information transmitted includes the desired / commanded engine torque 280, the desired / commanded braking / deceleration 282, etc. The information transmitted may also include commands to determine whether these aspects are relevant to the platoon controller 1. 10, it may also include steering commands, gear commands, etc. The information is then passed to the platoon controller or other A suitable controller (e.g., adaptive cruise control system (ACC) or whether it is generated by a collision mitigation system (CMS) or by, for example, a driver bar inputs (e.g. accelerator pedal position, brake position, steering wheel position whether generated through other or more traditional mechanisms, depending on The data is received from the partner vehicle.

[0026] In many embodiments, tractor sensor information provided to the platoon controller 110 Most or all of the information will be sent to the platoon partner, and the corresponding information will be sent to the platoon partner. By receiving the information from the partner, the platoon controller 110 of each vehicle - It is possible to develop an accurate model of what the vehicle is doing. platoon controller, including any vehicle configuration information 190 relevant to the platoon controller. This also applies to any other relevant information provided to the Platoon. The requirements of the controller 110, the sensors and actuators available in each vehicle, and It should be understood that this can vary greatly based on the particular knowledge a vehicle may have about itself. .

[0027] Information transmitted between vehicles may also include information regarding intended future operations, for example: If the lead vehicle knows it is approaching a hill, it will increase its torque request in the near future. (or reduce torque demand in the case of downhill slopes) and and transmitting the information to the following vehicle for appropriate use by the platoon controller 110. Of course, there are many different methods that can be used to predict future torque or braking demands. There is other information that can be communicated in a variety of different formats. In some embodiments, the nature of the expected event itself (e.g., a slope, a curve, or Exit approaching, etc.) along with the predicted timing of such events. In other embodiments, predictions such as expected torque and / or other control parameters may be used. The intention is to determine the expected control commands and the expected timing of such changes. It can report the future actions that are planned. Of course, this can be relevant for controlling the platoon. ,There are a wide variety of anticipated events.

[0028] Communication between the vehicle and the NOC is via cellular networks, various Wi-Fi networks, , satellite communication networks, and / or any other variety of networks as needed, etc. Communications with the NOC can be transmitted over a variety of different networks. may be coordinated by the NOC communications controller 180. The information received from the NOC can vary widely based on the overall system design. In some situations, the NOC may provide specific control parameters, such as target gap tolerances. These control parameters or constraints include speed limits, road / terrain characteristics (e.g., hilly vs. flat), factors known to the NOC, such as road conditions (flat, curved vs. straight, etc.), weather conditions, traffic or road conditions, etc. In other situations, the NOC may share such information with a platoon controller. The NOC can also provide configuration information and current operational status such as weight, trailer length, etc. Provide information about the Partner Vehicle, including any known relevant information about its operational status. It can also be done as follows.

[0029] The configuration file 190 contains various information about the host vehicle that may be associated with the controller. It can contain a variety of information. For example, some information might include engine performance characteristics, available sensors, the nature of the braking system, the position of the GNSS antenna relative to the front of the cab, The vehicle specifications may include gear ratios, differential ratios, etc.

[0030] 2 illustrates a specific embodiment of the platoon controller 110. Illustrated Embodiment In the present example, the platoon controller 110 includes a gap controller 112, a plurality of estimators 113, and a plurality of estimators 114. 14, one or more trackers 116, any desired monitors 118, and possibly any 119 。

[0032] The present invention may include various other components 119.

[0031] In the illustrated embodiment, the gap controller 112 includes a target and state setter 200; The gap regulator 210 and the gap estimator 240 are generally The state setter 200 determines the intended operating mode (state) of the gap regulator 210 and and determining values ​​of any variable control parameters appropriate for use in that mode of operation. It is done.

[0032] The gap regulator 210 operates in the manner specified by the target and state setter 200. In the gap control operation mode, the following platoon partner is controlled by the gap control operation mode. The gap regulator 210 is configured to operate in accordance with any specified value specified by the state setter 200. The vehicle is controlled in a manner that seeks to achieve and maintain the desired gap according to the control parameters set. In other modes, the gap regulator 210 controls the To control the vehicle in a manner that attempts to achieve an appropriate response.

[0033] The gap estimator 240 uses actual measurements and / or the platoon controller 110 is configured to estimate / determine the current gap based on other information available. An accurate understanding of the current gap is critical to successful operation of the gap regulator. At the same time, every measurement system has inherent tolerances and may report errors and / or may be unusable in some circumstances. Thus, the gap estimator 240 receives information from sensors relating to multiple positions or relative positions. and configured to receive such data and fuse it into a reliable estimate of the current gap. can be.

[0034] The torque and brake demands generated by the GAP regulator 210 are various actuator interfaces (e.g., engine torque interface 161 and 162). The interface 161 sends the appropriate torque command to the engine torque controller 152. The engine torque controller 152 controls fuel charge, valve timing, retard By appropriately commanding various engine operating parameters such as the engine speed, The brake interface 162 sends a command to the brake controller 156. The brake system generates an appropriate braking request to

[0035] A particular embodiment of the gap controller 112 is described in more detail below with reference to FIG. It will be revealed.

[0036] Returning to FIG. 2, there are a variety of estimators 114 that are useful in the gap controller 112. In various embodiments, these include a mass estimator 271, a drag estimator 273, a ground speed estimator 275, one or more of the gyro bias estimator 277 and / or other estimators 279 It may include the above.

[0037] The mass estimator 271 is configured to estimate the mass of each of the platoon partners. These mass estimates are used by the gap controller 112 to -Adjust the torque and braking demands based on the respective weight (mass) of the toner. It can help you scale.

[0038] The drag estimator 273 is configured to estimate the drag resistance of each of the platoon partners. These drag resistance estimates are used by the gap controller to determine the torque requirements. In general, the speed and braking demands of any particular track can be adjusted accordingly. The drag resistance of the truck or other vehicle is calculated by: (a) drag profile (the drag (b) if it varies based on the trailer (if any) being used or other characteristics of the load; (c) the current speed of the vehicle, (d) the wind speed and direction, (e) the rolling resistance, and (f) the platoon Status (e.g. whether the platoon is active or not, position of the vehicle within the platoon, gaps) , (f) may vary based on various factors, including bearing wear, etc.

[0039] The ground speed estimator 275 is configured to estimate the actual ground speed of each platoon partner. Many trucks and other vehicles have very precise rotational speeds for the associated wheels. The actual ground speed is measured by the wheel speed sensors. The exact wheel speed may differ depending on the vehicle speed and tire slip conditions. The diameter may vary depending on the tire used. Furthermore, the wheel diameter may vary depending on tire wear, ambient temperature, etc. Wheel diameter will change over time due to changes in temperature and other factors. It may even change during a particular journey as the tire heats up (or changes temperature). In fact, all these variations in wheel diameter are reflected in the gap estimation and gap control. Therefore, the ground speed estimator 275 is Based on the measured wheel speed and other available information such as GNSS information, The ground speed estimation is based on a tracker-based gap measurement. (e.g. radar, camera, LIDAR, etc.) is not available (this is e.g. This is especially useful when platoon partners are shifting sideways due to line changes. .

[0040] Some of the measurements utilized by the gap controller 112 are gyro-based inertial These include yaw measurements, which indicate the relative rotational speed of the vehicle, and measurements of longitudinal acceleration. Gyros have an inherent measurement bias called gyro bias that can affect the measurements. The gyro bias estimator 277 estimates these biases. and compensate for such gyro-based measurement errors with a gap controller. can be done.

[0041] The platoon controller 110 is also useful for any particular gap controller 112. , any other estimator 279 that may be

[0042] The platoon controller 110 may also include one or more trackers 116 . Each tracker 116 is configured to measure or determine the gap. One type of tracker currently in use is the radar-based radar tracker. More recent commercial trucks come with radar units as standard equipment. radar trackers are often equipped with radar sensors, and radar trackers are specifically designed for use on such vehicles. Of course, to make the use of the Radar Tracker 283 easier, - Any vehicle not pre-equipped with a device may be fitted with one or more radar devices. For example, co-pending patent applications 10 and 2017 filed on May 9, 2017, respectively. Some specific radar trackers are described in more detail in reference 11, and both Both are incorporated herein by reference.

[0043] LIDAR is another distance measurement technology that is well suited to measuring gaps between vehicles. LIDAR is rapidly gaining popularity for use in automated and autonomous driving applications. The AR tracker 286 may include a LIDAR unit or may include a LIDAR unit. Cameras and stereo cameras are also well suited for use in various automated driving systems. It is becoming a more common distance measurement tool for use in autonomous driving applications.

[0044] Of course, other distance measurement techniques can be used, as represented by other trackers 289 For example, the gap between vehicles can be measured or estimated. A GPS tracker based primarily on PS location can be used.

[0045] In many embodiments, the tracker fuses data from multiple sensors to configured to assist in validating the measurements of key sensors used by the tracker The radar tracker application mentioned above involves fusing data to verify the measurements of the primary sensors. Various methods have been described to assist in this.

[0046] In various embodiments, the gap estimator 240 receives input from multiple sensors. Determine / estimate gaps based on the number of trackers replaced or one tracker replaced. It can be replaced by any of the above trackers, or considered to be a tracker itself. In the illustrated embodiment, the gap estimator 240 calculates the distance between the tracker and each vehicle. It fuses distance data from any other available sources, such as GNSS sensors on the It is shown separately as part of the cap controller 112.

[0047] The platoon controller 110 monitors certain components related to gap control. The system may also include one or more monitors 118 configured to view the image. One particular monitor that is particularly useful for controlling running tracks is the Brake Health Monitor 291 The brake health monitor 291 monitors the brake system and controls the platoon. to identify situations in which the brakes are unable to provide the level of braking normally expected For example, this can be done by applying a brake to the base brakes, for example, by driving downhill to the point of near overheating. This can occur if the brakes are drum brakes that have been used while the brakes are in use. If the health monitor 291 identifies such a situation, it notifies the platoon controller. Appropriate corrective action can then be taken by the platoon controller. will vary based on the specific situation identified by the brake health monitor, e.g. Break up the platoon and increase the target gap to a level more suitable for braking conditions. Of course, the brake health monitor can also monitor the brake status. Identify improved conditions (e.g., brakes are cooled sufficiently) and improve platoon control. By notifying the platoon controller of these conditions, the platoon controller can respond accordingly. It can also be configured to operate in a way that improves braking performance, for example. This may narrow the target gap, re-establish the platoon, or or perform any other appropriate action.

[0048] The platoon controller may control other components, systems, and any device configured to monitor the status or condition of a system, environmental conditions, road or traffic conditions, etc. The system may include any of a variety of other monitors 299, such as DSRC communication between platoon partners. A DSRC link monitor may be provided to monitor the status of the communication link.

[0049] Referring now to FIG. 3, another embodiment of the gap controller 112 will be described in more detail. Similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the gap controller 112 3 includes a gap regulator 200, a gap regulator 210, and a gap estimator 240. In an embodiment, the target and state setter 200 includes an operating state selector 203 and a selected Gap regulation is used to set the value of any variable control parameter appropriate for use in the operating mode. The control parameter selector 206 determines, selects, sets or instructs the parameter.

[0050] The operating state selector 203 selects the intended operating mode (state) of the gap regulator 210. In some particular embodiments, the operational mode is configured to determine the The gap regulator controls the vehicle to maintain a specified gap between the vehicles. This may include a "normal" or "gap controlled" mode of operation, configured to In the controlled operating mode, the control parameter variable specified by the control parameter selector is The target gap itself (e.g., 10 m, 12 m, etc.) may be included. May vary somewhat based on factors such as weather, terrain, road conditions, traffic volume, etc. During normal operation Other control parameters include retraction speed, control strictness, and the balance between torque and braking control. In other embodiments, parameters that affect the tolerance or variation of the "Initiate" and / or "Entrain" or "Attract" a tone to establish a platoon and / or under at least partial automatic control to keep platoon partners safe There may be one or more individual states that are used to group them together in a convenient way.

[0051] Another potential mode of operation is the "disband" mode, in which: The platoon controller can automatically detect the driver (or automatic cruise control) of the following vehicle. the following vehicle towards / until a position where the vehicle control system can safely take over control of the vehicle. Generally speaking, the dissolution of the Platoon can be achieved by dissolving the Platoon, And vehicle control is left to the driver's manual control or adaptive cruise control to a point where it is possible to safely transition to control through the use of a different system such as The disbanding mode includes, for example, increasing the gap between vehicles. If one of the partners or the NOC decides to end the platoon, Detection of vehicles cutting in between vehicles, loss of communication between vehicles for a long period of time, and vehicles in front of the lead vehicle This can be caused by a variety of situations, such as detecting an object too late or too close for the platoon. can be arbitrarily triggered by

[0052] Another potential mode of operation is the velocity control mode or the relative velocity control mode. Speed ​​control, or relative speed control, is used to maintain a specific gap in a variety of specific situations. For example, radar (or other) tracking of a following vehicle This may occur if the device loses sight of the partner vehicle due to a lane change or other conditions. This can occur when there is a lateral misalignment between the vehicles.

[0053] Of course, various other modes of operation are possible.

[0054] The gap regulator 210 operates in the manner specified by the target and state setter 200. In the embodiment shown in FIG. The gap regulator 210 includes a scaler 212 and two separate controllers. These are used in different combinations in different modes of operation. In an embodiment, the controller is a sliding mode controller 215 (gap control ) and velocity / relative velocity controller 218. In other embodiments, any A single controller, additional and / or different controllers may be used as appropriate for a particular implementation. It should be understood that a roller may be provided.

[0055] In the illustrated embodiment, the torque signal and the brake signal from the vehicle ahead are slid. In addition to the outputs from the mode and relative speed controllers 215, 218, the engine and Before generating the torque and brake demands to the brake controller, The forward scaler 212 scales the torque and brake signals from the forward vehicle. Such scaling is configured to the weight (mass) of each vehicle, the respective drag of the vehicle, the severity of the braking event (e.g. high braking) In the braking scenario, a slight increase in brake command improves braking performance and response. This can be based on factors such as (and allowing for time uncertainty and a safety margin) In other embodiments, such scaling functions may be implemented in the respective controllers as desired. It can be integrated into the controller itself.

[0056] The sliding mode controller 215 controls the target gap and the control parameter selection. Achieve the desired gap according to any other control parameters specified by the controller 206. and is configured to control the following vehicle in a manner that seeks to maintain the The important function is gap control. The speed controller 218 controls the leading vehicle to a specified speed. It controls the following vehicle to maintain a certain speed, or in some cases simply to maintain a specified speed. In the illustrated embodiment, these two separate controllers are provided. By doing so, the gap regulator 210 can be configured to operate in different ways that may be appropriate in different operating environments. Several types of control can be provided. Some specific examples are shown in Figures 4A-4C. In the described embodiment, both controllers 215 and 218 It operates continuously during platooning and also uses the selector / adder 250 to select the current Selects the appropriate signal to output based on the operating mode. Optional brake monitor 255 indicates that the brake command output by the selector / adder 250 is for safety / anti-collision purposes. This helps ensure that following vehicles are not braked too aggressively unless necessary from a safety perspective. This is a safety feature that can be used to stand behind a trailing platoon partner. Traffic is subject to the unexpected aggressive braking of a following platoon partner This is to reduce risk.

[0057] The sliding mode controller 215 determines whether the relative speed to the vehicle ahead is in accordance with the gear between the vehicles. The characteristic is configured to control the following vehicle so that it varies as a function of the gap. , is shown in the state space diagram of FIG. 5, which illustrates the control scheme according to one embodiment. More specifically, Figure 5 plots the relative speed between vehicles (Y-axis) versus the gap between vehicles (X-axis). Figure 5 also shows the target control line 320 of the torque demand controller. In the illustrated embodiment, the average desired gap is 12 meters, which is represented by line 310. Therefore, the target control point 311 is 12 meters with a relative velocity of zero, which is , the intersection of line 310 (12 meter gap) and line 312 (zero relative velocity) is the point represented by

[0058] The torque demand controller component 221 of the gap regulator 210 determines the target It is configured to generate the appropriate torque demand to control the gap according to control line 320. The torque request is then implemented by the engine torque controller 152. As shown in Figure 5, if the gap is larger than the desired gap, the phase of the rear track The rear truck travels slightly faster than the front truck so that the relative speed has a small positive value. As the rear truck approaches the front truck, it is controlled to travel slightly faster. The relative velocity of the two smoothly decreases until the gap decreases to the target control point 311, at which point If perfect control is achieved, the relative velocity will be zero. When it gets closer than the gap, it has a negative relative velocity to the leading track and the desired gap is slowed down so that the

[0059] The sliding mode controller 215 controls the platooning pull and gear. An integrated sliding mode control scheme is utilized during both the control and the hold phase. A sliding mode controller is configured to control towards the get control line 320. By creating this, the relationship between the relative velocity and the gap is within the safe region for platooning. It helps ensure they stay.

[0060] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the sliding mode controller 215 controls the speed of the different gaps. a separate controller configured to control towards a target control goal (e.g., torque demand) Controller 221 and brake demand generator component 223). The control objective is illustrated in the state space diagram of FIG. 5, which shows the control objective according to one particular embodiment. More specifically, FIG. 5 shows the torque demand controller target control line 3 20, brake demand controller target control line 330 is shown. Representative transition paths from various points in the state space to the torque demand target control line 320 This shows:

[0061] Most open highway driving conditions require the use of foundation brakes. Instead, simply adjusting the torque demand is sufficient to properly control the gap. is partially driven by engine braking and / or retarder (if available) This is because torque demand can go negative to some extent without the need to apply the foundation brake. As mentioned above, when fuel is cut off, there are some pumping losses and Since there are some friction losses, simply reducing the fuel charge appropriately will reduce the normal It is possible to provide some negative torque while using valve timing. If a large negative torque is required, the engine torque controller 152 activates the retarder. and / or take other appropriate measures to reduce the negative impact of Torque can be generated.

[0062] Separately, the brake demand controller component 22 of the gap regulator 210 3 generally targets a different gap than that targeted by the torque demand controller 221, particularly a brake request generated during normal operation, configured to maintain a small gap by The torque demand and brake demand controller controls the gap. This difference in tolerance is sometimes referred to herein as the gap tolerance 340. The brake demand 213 is at least as large as the gap tolerance below the torque demand target control line 320. Brake Since the gear ratio can only be used to slow down the vehicle, the effect of this difference is When the gap regulator 210 cannot maintain the desired gap by controlling only the torque demand , before applying the foundation brakes, the following truck must move a relatively small distance (2 meters in this example) The advantage of this is that the vehicle is only allowed to approach the target brake control line 330. In some cases, the desired gap can be restored by adjusting only the torque demand without In this case, there is no need to use the foundation brake at all. This includes the risk of the foundation brake being deployed unnecessarily. This has the effect of safely maintaining the gap while reducing the possibility of being broken.

[0063] Normal gap control is shown in FIG. 4A. During normal gap control, sliding The mode controller 215 is used to select the control parameter set by the control parameter selector 206. Determine the appropriate torque and braking demands to achieve and maintain the target gap. If appropriate, the torque requirements generated by the sliding mode controller 215 The brake demand and the brake demand are based on input from the feedforward scaler 212. and can be appropriately scaled by the selector / adder 250. In gap control mode, the output of the relative speed controller 218 is used to control the following vehicle. It will not be done.

[0064] In some embodiments, the sliding mode controller 215 may be configured as shown in FIG. The torque demand and brake demand controllers 221, 223 are included to The torque demand and brake demand controllers 221, 223 are configured to target different gaps. The engine and the brake are controlled by the respective and brakes are controlled to the same target gap, resulting in a smoother and more Provides a comfortable ride and prevents wheel brakes (e.g., foundation brakes on tractor-trailer rigs) Such a gap control architecture is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,629,393. is described in more detail in US Pat. No. 6,239,999, which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0065] The sliding mode controller 215 works very well to control the gap. Although this will work, there will be operating environments where different types of control may be appropriate. For example, If it is necessary to break up the platoon and return the following vehicles to manual or other automatic control, In some cases, different types of control are desirable. Usually, the gap between vehicles during platooning is , smaller, and often much smaller, than a driver can safely maintain under manual control. Therefore, breaking up a platoon with the aim of regaining manual control of the following vehicle is generally In this case, the driver is advised to increase the gap to an appropriate distance for manual control before relinquishing control. This can be smoothly achieved by the relative speed controller 218. is.

[0066] When the operating state selector 203 determines that the platoon should be disbanded, the process shown in FIG. The operating state selector 203 is configured to transition to the disbanding mode as represented by B. In the break-up mode, the relative speed controller 218 The control parameter selector 206 provides primary control over the subsequent tracks during disbanding. The desired (target) relative velocity of the vehicle can be specified. The specific target relative velocity depends on the nature of the situation. and / or may vary based on the vehicles involved in the platoon. without having to constantly slow down (which could unduly impede following traffic), and preferably by the lead vehicle. Allows the vehicles to separate gradually but quickly without requiring either vehicle to change its travel plan. It is desirable to select a relative velocity that is approximately 0.5 to 4 meters per second, e.g., 1 to 4 meters per second. A relative velocity during breakup of 2 m / s was found to work well for platooning tracks. It is clear.

[0067] During the breakup, the lead vehicle can take various actions. For example, the lead truck can In such cases, the following trucks may be actively accelerated or increased in speed. By attempting to accelerate, the lead vehicle will be pulled further away than would occur under relative speed control. On platooning tracks, one way to achieve this is to , ignore or nullify the positive torque command from the feedforward scaler 212 There are several ways to make it more effective.

[0068] Another potential scenario is when the lead truck brakes heavily while under speed control. In some scenarios, the speed controller 2 18 allows for a certain amount of gap contraction when the gap is relatively large, thereby In the illustrated embodiment, the brakes may be configured to reduce the total amount of braking required. , the sliding mode controller is concerned with the occurrence of (reasonably) unexpected events. The gap between the cars is large enough to prevent the following cars from running into the rear of the leading car. It is designed to ensure that the time is always sufficient to give the vehicle enough time to respond. Therefore, the sliding mode controller is more efficient than the relative velocity controller. If a larger brake or negative torque signal is being output, the Torque commands must be passed to the vehicle's engine and brake controllers. During dissolution, the selector / adder 250 receives the signal from the sliding mode controller 215. Only negative commands (i.e., brake commands and negative torque commands) are used, and the relative Such a command is only executed if its magnitude is greater than the command from the speed controller 218. The NIC is configured to use the

[0069] There may also be operating environments other than disbanding where relative speed control or simply speed control is desired. For example, the rear of the leading vehicle may become invisible to the tracker 116 of the following vehicle, or the track may become There may be situations where car 116 loses sight of the rear of its platoon partner. For example, this may occur as a result of a lane change by one of the platoon partners. In such a situation, the gap regulator must accurately regulate the longitudinal gap between the cars. It may not be possible to measure the vehicle's respective GNSS position, etc. to determine the gap In such situations, it may be necessary to rely on less accurate approaches to , and have the trailing vehicle slowly back up until the rear of the lead vehicle is within the tracker's field of view. In some cases, it may be desirable to control the relative velocity in this way. well suited for use in the Specifically, goals generally occur quickly or during dissolution. It does not retreat as far, and therefore has a smaller relative velocity (e.g., 0.5 m / s vs. 2 m / sec) may be appropriate.

[0070] One approach to such relative velocity control is shown in Figure 4C. In this manner, the speed controller 218 receives the normal This is used in conjunction with scaling, which allows subsequent platoon partners to The acceleration and / or torque increase of the lead vehicle is greater than that which occurs during the breakup condition shown in 4B. At the same time, for safety purposes, the approach described above with respect to FIG. In a similar manner to the IFAC approach, selector / summer 250 selects the sliding mode control. Braking requests and negative torque requests from the brake 215 can be utilized as appropriate.

[0071] The architecture of a particular platoon and gap controller is shown in Figures 2 and 3. However, the particular architecture utilized does not affect any particular platooning or It should be understood that the present invention may vary widely to meet the needs of various vehicle control systems. .

[0072] As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the described controller may be implemented on one or more processors. Programmable logic is used to implement software or firmware algorithms. using digital or analog components, or Any combination can be used and implemented algorithmically.

[0073] In the above detailed description, the controlled power plant is a diesel engine or the like. It is assumed to be an internal combustion engine, but provides torque to drive the host vehicle. Regardless of the nature of the power plant used to It should be understood that the controller design, functionality, and The capabilities and architectures are typically based on electric motors, turbines, fuel cells, or other types of Hybrid vehicles are vehicles that combine multiple types of power plants. Includes hybrid vehicles (e.g., hybrid vehicles incorporating both an electric motor and an internal combustion engine) Suitable for controlling a vehicle that provides power to a drivetrain or directly to one or more wheels. If the power plant is or includes an internal combustion engine, Gas-powered engines, diesel-powered engines, 2-stroke engines, 4-stroke engines engines, variable stroke engines, engines using four or more strokes, rotary engines Any type of internal combustion engine may be utilized, including a diesel engine, a turbine engine, or the like.

[0074] The above discussion has focused primarily on tractor-trailer truck platooning applications. However, the control approaches described may involve the use of one or more of the vehicles involved. whether it has 2, 3, 4, 18, or any other number of wheels, and Regardless of the nature of the powerplant used in such vehicles, It should be understood that it is suitable for use.

[0075] Figure 6 shows the hardware of a platoon control system that is particularly suitable for ASIL-compliant platoon control. The illustrated embodiment has three separate controllers. These include the platoon controller 410, the vehicle interface The interface controller 460 and gateway processor 470 are included. Selected components of a gateway processor 470 are shown in FIG.

[0076] As best seen in FIG. 6, the platoon controller 410 is connected to an interface 4 20 and communicates with the vehicle interface controller 460 via a direct link 478. In some embodiments, link 478 is a dedicated direct It is a direct wired connection, and no other devices are connected to that link. Wired connections can be, for example, coaxial cable, twisted pair wiring, fiber optics, or any The physical interconnect may be provided in any suitable form, such as a cable or trace, or any other suitable physical connection medium. It is possible.

[0077] In the illustrated embodiment, the platoon controller 410 is the platoon controller described above. The vehicle interface controller 460 (system The system manager (also called the system manager) performs the functions of the actuator interface 160. , and further includes several safety monitors. In some embodiments, the safety monitors are configured to execute a compliant safety monitoring algorithm and The La460 is designed as an ASIL-compliant device.

[0078] Generally, the vehicle interface controller 460 performs the Additionally, it independently verifies the commands sent by the platoon controller 110. These include processors and software (including safety monitors) with a higher level of safety. For validation, we tested the Platoon controller with a subset of available sensor inputs. It uses a separate verification algorithm that is independent of the one used by

[0079] The gateway processor 470 manages communication between the host vehicle and the platoon partners. Coordinate and host the network operations center and / or external to the vehicle and any other entity. In a particular embodiment of the system, the gateway processor 470 is best shown in FIG. Thus, the vehicle-to-vehicle communication controller 170 and the NOC communication controller 180 are included. Typically, the vehicle-to-vehicle communication controller uses a short-range, vehicle-to-vehicle wireless communication protocol, such as the DSRC protocol. The NOC communication controller typically uses cellular or satellite Use communications to communicate with a network operations center.

[0080] In some embodiments, the gateway processor 470 and the platoon controller 410 The connection between them (link 478) is a dedicated, direct wired connection; other devices cannot be connected to the link. In some embodiments, Ethernet or a similar standardized wired communication protocol may be used. A protocol is used to pass information between the gateway processor and the platoon controller. This allows for fast and reliable communication between the gateway processor and the platoon controller. In particular, 100BASE or higher (e.g., 1000BASE-T) Although a different implementation may use an Ethernet physical layer (such as 10GBASE-SE or 10GBASE-SE), It should be appreciated that various other physical layers may be used in embodiments.

[0081] In some embodiments, the gateway processor 470 may include a front camera mounted on the vehicle. The vehicle is also configured to communicate with the camera 477 and the dashboard display 475. If the strike vehicle is the lead vehicle in the platoon, the driver of the following vehicle must move in front of the lead vehicle. The gateway processor uses the forward-facing camera 477 to see what is there. The host vehicle transmits the video image received from the host vehicle to the following vehicle. In this case, the gateway processor 470 receives such information from the gateway processor of the leading vehicle. and transmits the image to a dashboard display 475 where the So the driver of the host vehicle can see what is ahead of the lead vehicle. It is not possible to show the driver of a following vehicle a view of what is ahead of the lead vehicle. This provides the driver of the following vehicle with a sense of comfort, better situational awareness, and the ability to avoid collisions occurring at the front of the platoon. This is desirable because it gives the individual the ability to react independently to the situation at hand. In a platoon (e.g., a platoon including a tractor-trailer truck), the following vehicles may not be able to follow the lead vehicle. They are always close together (much closer than in normal manual driving) and the leading vehicle is behind the trailing vehicle. (This is especially true for what is happening at the front of the platoon.) If you cannot see the driver of your following platoon partner and / or This is especially important when passengers are traveling on a plane (which can be an unpleasant experience for passengers).

[0082] The video streams that pass through the gateway are managed by the video manager 474. The gateway 470 may also include a camera 477 and / or a dashboard display. To communicate directly with the play 475, the platoon controller 410 It is not burdened in any way by the need to manage the law.

[0083] In some embodiments, the gateway 470 provides records for diagnostic purposes, etc. There is also a message logger 473 that records various messages and other information that passes through it. The functionality of the message logger 473 is described in more detail below.

[0084] The platoon controller 410 may monitor the vehicle's current wheel speed, any braking or acceleration Vehicle settings such as accelerator pedal input, steering wheel position (if necessary), and transmission. A listener on any suitable vehicle communication bus from which information about the operating state can be obtained directly. The platoon controller 410 is configured as a position controller for the vehicle. A sensor unit such as a GPS unit 131 is used to receive information from an object outside the vehicle. Forward-looking radar units for receiving information about their position (e.g., radar scene) The same information is also connected to other devices such as LIDAR 138, cameras 139, etc. The platoon controller 410 can also acquire the vehicle's communication bus information. is strictly configured as a server and does not itself transmit information over such a bus. Therefore, the platoon controller 410 may output the The control commands are ASIL compliant by the Vehicle Interface Controller 460 There is no need to comply with ASIL as long as it is confirmed that the

[0085] ASIL-compliant Vehicle Interface Controller 460 (System Manager 460 and (also called) is a vehicle's engine controller (EECU), brake controller (B ECU), and / or one or more communication buses, either directly or via the vehicle's CAN bus or to send commands to any other suitable controller via either The device is configured to communicate with the

[0086] In the illustrated embodiment, the platoon controller 410 and the vehicle interface controller The interface 420 between the controller 460 (also called the system manager 460) It is very narrowly defined. The interface 420 is controlled by the platoon controller. The actual commands generated include, in the illustrated embodiment, torque demand 422, brake Demand 424, and optionally retarder demand 426. If it also controls other aspects of the ring or host vehicle, it may also use steering and / or other appropriate Appropriate control commands (not shown) may also be included.

[0087] The interface 420 has a programmable output that indicates whether or not the output should direct vehicle operation. It also includes a platooning status indicator 428, which is a signal from the tone controller. The platoon status indicator 428 is, for example, Platooning is being carried out / should be carried out, and the torque, brake High indication that rake and retarder commands 422, 424, 426 should be obeyed In this arrangement, the low flag The state indicates that the platoon controller has determined that it is not controlling the vehicle. Both interface controllers 460 are informed by the platooning status indicator 428 Any torque, brake, or other torque-related error will be reported whenever platoon control indicates it is not active. It also does not transmit brake, retarder or other control commands (although this is generally unlikely). ) When the platoon controller 410 determines that the platoon is valid, of the safety monitor 465) as indicated by the turning status indicator 428 If one of the vehicles indicates that platooning is not appropriate, the vehicle interface controller / The system manager 460 initiates the termination of the platoon.

[0088] The interface 420 also provides a host vehicle and partner truck interface useful for safety monitoring. This facilitates the transmission of specific status information (preferably ASIL certification status information) regarding both the Specifically, the host vehicle status information 441 includes the following information as confirmed by the system manager 460: Contains state information about the host vehicle that is certified (e.g., ASIL-C certified) and Useful for one or more safety monitors on the partner vehicle. Partner vehicle status information 444 includes ,State about the partner vehicle confirmed by the partner vehicle’s,system manager. The information contained therein is available to one or more safety monitors 465 on the host vehicle. The state information 441 is sent to the platoon controller 410, and the platoon controller 41 0 forwards such information to gateway 470 without modification, and gateway 47 0 forwards the host vehicle state information to the partner vehicle's gateway. Partner vehicle status information 444 received by the gateway 470 from the gateway is forwarded unmodified to the platoon controller 410, which then Preferably, the host status information 441 is forwarded (again unmodified) to the The receiving system manager can then verify that the received data is not corrupted. along with a checksum or other appropriate data integrity verification mechanism to ensure Any corrupted information can be ignored. ASIL certification status information is provided for certain ASIL-compliant devices (first platoon partner System Manager 460) to another ASIL-compliant device (second platoon part) The data is passed unmodified to the data processor's system manager 460, so that it can be transmitted to intermediate transmitting devices ( For example, the platoon controller 410 and gateway 470 themselves are ASIL compliant. Suitable for use in ASIL-compliant safety check algorithms, even if they are not do.

[0089] Host and partner vehicle status information is available to any safety monitor used by This can include ASIL qualification status information, such as vehicle wheel speed, brake brake demand, torque demand and / or supplied torque, brake air supply pressure, steering position location, accelerometer readings, and / or safety monitoring by the System Manager 460 Any other information about the partner vehicle used as part of the data may be included. The network controller 410 provides the state information used by the system manager 460. As long as it utilizes partner status information emitted by ASIL-certified devices, The information may also optionally be included in the vehicle status information 441, 444, but such inclusion is It is not required and generally not desirable, as such information may be shared with partner vehicle partners. The signal can be acquired and transmitted by the tone controller, which allows the interface This is because it reduces the bandwidth that needs to be allocated to the resource 420.

[0090] Some of the host vehicle's sensor information (e.g., wheel speed, brake pedal position, radar signal) The platoon controller 410 and the system manager 460 control the It should be noted that the platoon partner 410 may be any suitable vehicle control system. It is desirable for the platoon controller to be an authorized listener of the control bus. There is no need to wait to receive such information from the system manager; rather, The controller can receive any desired data from any suitable sensor via any suitable connection, such as a suitable CAN bus. However, the partner vehicle's sensor information is directly acquired from the host vehicle. Any sensor information relevant to the system manager is read by the system manager. (whether or not it is also read by the platoon controller) By including both the vehicle status information 441, the system manager of the partner vehicle can Such information is guaranteed to be ASIL certified. The controller receives some host vehicle sensor information that it cannot directly access through an intermediary. The information can be received via a system manager 460 that functions as a proxy.

[0091] Although there is some overlap in the sensor information used, the host vehicle platoon controller 410 and the host vehicle sensors used by the host vehicle systems manager 460 The information changes frequently and may be further altered by sensor information from the target partner vehicle. For example, the host platoon controller may control the torque demand and brake GNSS position data is used to determine the request, but the GNSS position information is ASIL compliant. may not be used by system managers because they are not

[0092] Some of the sensor information used by the safety monitor on the host vehicle is This may not be required by the safety monitors. pedal position, input from the host vehicle driver interface device 469, etc. Unless such sensor information is used by the partner vehicle, Such information does not need to be included in the vehicle status information 441, 444.

[0093] Host vehicle sensor information used by partner vehicle platoon controllers Some of these may not be ASIL compliant and therefore may not be used by partner vehicle safety monitors. Therefore, sensor information not related to the safety monitor of the partner vehicle may not be used. Such information need not be included as part of the vehicle status information 441, 444. Rather, such information The relevant data is acquired by the platoon controller 410 and transmitted to the corresponding partner vehicle. The platoon controller may then transmit the information (via the communication controller 470) to the corresponding platoon controller. However, it is very difficult to ASIL-certify GPS or other GNSS position data. Therefore, it is preferable that the GNSS position data is not included in the vehicle state information 441, 444. Rather, such information is sent from the host vehicle's platoon controller to Gateway 4. The information is passed to the partner vehicle's platoon controller via 70.

[0094] The driver interface device 469 may be mounted on the dashboard or A button or other suitable mechanism located somewhere conveniently within the vehicle cabin. The driver interface device 469 may be configured to allow the driver to to show readiness for platooning during the A mechanism that the driver can press at any time to initiate the disbanding of the platoon if the driver is not ready. The use of the driver interface device 469 is described in more detail in Patent Document 2. and is incorporated herein by reference. In the illustrated embodiment, Commands from the driver interface device 469 (preferably ASIL compliant) are sent to the vehicle The signal is sent to both interface controllers 460, from which it is sent to the platoon controller 41. Similarly, requests to the Driver Interface Device are passed to the platoon controller. from the controller to the vehicle interface controller 460 and The controller 460 passes the data to the driver interface device 469. What needs to be done to make the Driver Interface Device 469 ASIL compliant? However, in other embodiments, the platoon controller 410 , or it can be a direct listener to commands from the driver interface device. It should be understood that in the embodiment shown in FIG. Requests sent to the interface device 469 and the driver interface device Driver platoon related requests and commands 42 representing commands received from the driver platoon 469 Includes 7.

[0095] In some particular embodiments, the vehicle interface controller 460 is a single dedicated The platoon controller 410 and the gateway processor 412 are implemented as integrated circuit chips. Each processor 470 is implemented as a separate system-on-module (SOM).

[0096] The platoon control system hardware architecture shown in Figure 6 is itself an ASI Use information available from various sources, including non-L sources, to achieve ASIL compliance As such, it is particularly suited to efficiently handle platoon control related tasks. In this configuration, the powertrain control commands ultimately issued by the control system are Can be SIL rated.

[0097] The hardware architecture in Figure 6 also offers several advantages from a security perspective. In the illustrated embodiment, the gateway processor 470 is associated with controlling the vehicle. It is not connected to any communication bus (e.g., CAN bus). The gateway processor 470 is the least secure of the four hardware components may transmit any information directly to one of the more secure vehicle communication buses or This means that the information cannot be received directly from such a bus. Hacking into the gateway processor 470 allows an unauthorized entity to take control of the vehicle. This is advantageous from the viewpoint of safety, as it makes it impossible to The Gateway Processor 470 does not need to be ASIL compliant, greatly simplifying its certification It will be transformed.

[0098] Applications for using vehicle mass estimation Vehicle mass estimation can have many applications.

[0099] In one application, the mass of the vehicle is used to measure the motion of the vehicle itself and its systems (e.g., throttle). It can control the torque, brakes, steering, and other actuators.

[0100] Vehicle mass estimation also plays a role in platooning and the relative positioning of vehicles. For such purposes, the train is generally made up of cars, with a leading car and a trailing car. The vehicles are arranged to operate in a platoon using the estimated relative mass of each vehicle to select the and calculates the transmission from the lead vehicle to the trailing vehicles based on the relative mass of the vehicles operating in the platoon. Scales received commands and potentially uses vehicle mass estimation to control vehicle behavior This may include controlling the

[0101] Additionally, the mass estimate, or the sensor data used to calculate the mass estimate, may be A network operations center ( For example, to coordinate platoons, By communicating the masses of two (or more) vehicles before joining, the vehicles can Immediately take an appropriate platoon position (e.g., either the lead car or the trailing car) The terms data processing center and NOC each encompass a wide variety of implementations. Please note that the term "data processing" should be broadly construed as follows: A management center and / or NOC consists of one or more servers located in a single physical location. In other embodiments, the data processing center and / or NOC may include a distributed are located in different geographic locations but are networked together to share data and other communications. The network may include one or more servers interconnected by a network.

[0102] Figure 8 shows how vehicle mass estimation is typically modeled. The example shows the rolling resistance, especially when the vehicle is traveling either uphill or downhill. Anti(F ローリング ), air resistance (F 空気 ), gravity (F 重力 ), and tractors or other Any tractor force (F) generated by the vehicle pulling the load 牽引 ) while driving The forces acting on the vehicle are measured or modeled. In addition, the acceleration of the vehicle is measured or modeled. All known forces are measured or modeled, and accelerations are modeled / recognized. Once identified, an algorithm based on Newton's second law (force = mass x acceleration) is used to The mass is calculated.

[0103] Figure 9 shows how multiple mass estimation sample points are taken over time to arrive at an accurate mass estimate for the vehicle. For example, the mass estimation calculations are performed while the vehicle is in motion. The mass estimation data points are collected at fixed intervals of 100 ms. Once a sufficient number of samples have been collected, they are plotted based on force versus acceleration. Once the data points are converged, as represented by line 90 on the plot, the data points typically converge. The combination generally provides a very accurate estimate within five percent (5%) of the vehicle's true mass. Manifest.

[0104] Averaging mass estimates tends to yield more accurate mass estimates in the presence of disturbances. For example, a large tractor trailer can carry approximately 2000 lbs of fuel when the tank is full. As this fuel is consumed, the mass will drift downwards. By equalizing, the mass estimation tracks the change in mass due to fuel consumption.

[0105] FIG. 10 illustrates a method for estimating and reporting vehicle mass estimates according to different non-exclusive embodiments of the present application. 10 is a diagram 1000 showing various possibilities for and / or use.

[0106] In a non-exclusive embodiment, a sensor 130 (i.e., 1) on the tractor as shown in FIG. 31-149) provide force and mass measurements that are used to generate a mass estimate for a given vehicle. The sensor data used to determine various measurements of speed and acceleration. The sensor data includes, for example, engine torque, transmission ratio, wheel speed, retarder information, and and / or may include GPS or other positioning and / or velocity or acceleration information Additionally, the sensor data may include, but is not limited to, braking events and braking However, in principle, the magnitude of the sensor data collected during the braking event can also be included. Sensor data is not included in the mass estimation sample. In general, braking events are not accurately monitored. This results in a very large force that is difficult to model. Small errors in the model typically result in large errors in the modeled forces, which can affect the quality This leads to large errors in the mass estimation calculation. It is difficult to precisely model the brake pressure (e.g., converting brake pressure into braking force or deceleration). Because of the difficulty of braking, data collected during a braking event is usually Not used. In yet another embodiment, other data may be included in the sensor data. Other data such as vehicle ID, metadata, and information contained in the vehicle configuration file 190 A vehicle ID allows the sensor data to be tagged to a specific vehicle. This function allows the sensor data to be collected from a data processing center such as a NOC or another vehicle. This is useful in situations where vehicle mass estimates are computed at a location remote from the host vehicle.

[0107] The above represents a non-exhaustive list of sensor data that can be used in the mass estimation calculation. Other sensor data to acquire includes data generated by actuator interfaces. For example, the torque command can be calculated based on the engine torque. A sensor can be used to measure the actual torque delivered. In this situation, especially in tractor-trailers, adjustable trailer axles, tire pressure, type and condition of ears, presence and / or position of any aerodynamic aids (fixed or Adjustable), specific trailer configuration or number of trailers, etc. All generated data can be considered in the same way.

[0108] In step 1002, the vehicle mass estimate is calculated, as described above, and averaged over time. In one embodiment, the vehicle's "raw" sensor data is collected from a network, such as a NOC. The data is then wirelessly transmitted to a remote data processing center located on network 1006. Mass estimates are calculated by a data processing center using the raw data. In some embodiments, the mass estimation calculations are performed on the host vehicle that collects the sensor data. In an embodiment, sensor data collected by a vehicle is transmitted to one or more other vehicles. In response, one or more other vehicles calculate a mass estimate.

[0109] In step 1004, the calculated mass estimate is calculated in several steps depending on where the calculation was performed. It can be shared with several different entities, for example, a remote data processing center such as a NOC. If the center 1006 performs the calculation, the mass estimate may be calculated based on one or more other vehicles 1008 and and / or may be reported back to the original vehicle that generated the sensor data or to the host vehicle 1010. Similarly, the computation may be performed by either the host vehicle 1010 or another vehicle 1008. In this case, the calculation may be performed by the center 1006, one or more other vehicles 1008, and / or The strike vehicle 1010 may be notified.

[0110] The above-described embodiments are directed to a location where sensor data generated on a host vehicle is transmitted, mass estimation, and Where the calculations are performed, and only a few of the entities receiving the mass estimation calculations These embodiments are merely illustrative and not limiting. It should be understood that this should not be construed as a limitation on the scope of the present invention. The sensor data is transmitted to one or more locations, and the vehicle mass estimation calculations are performed at one or more locations as well. Computed and multiple, including NOC, data processing center, another vehicle and / or host vehicle Vehicle mass estimation calculations may include platooning. It can also be used in a wide variety of applications, including but not limited to:

[0111] Figure 11 shows a case where vehicle platooning was investigated using mass estimation data received from multiple vehicles. Flow diagram 110 showing the steps a Network Operations Center (NOC) takes to It is 0.

[0112] In step 1102, the sensor data is collected from multiple sensors as they travel from location to location. The NOC receives the signal from multiple vehicles. During operation, each vehicle can use 3G, 4G, 5G, LTE, and existing Other existing or future cellular protocols, WiFi, Google's Rem Remote Procedure Call (GRPC) protocol, or any other A wireless network is typically established using one of many wireless protocols, such as a radio frequency interference protocol. The vehicle periodically transmits sensor data over the network. For example, every 100 milliseconds Sample and transmit sensor data.

[0113] In step 1104, upon receiving the sensor data, the NOC calculates the mass of each reporting vehicle. Therefore, the NOC calculates the estimated number of reporting vehicles as they move from location to location. These mass estimates are maintained.

[0114] In step 1106, the NOC identifies vehicles suitable for platooning. Determine whether or not (or more) vehicles should be combined to operate in platoons. Several variables must be considered when making a decision, such as the type of candidate vehicle or These factors include the class, the surroundings of the candidate vehicle, the direction of travel of the candidate vehicle, and other factors. For example, two tractor-trailers are traveling in the same direction, along the same highway, and in roughly the same vicinity. If you are traveling in the opposite direction, you are usually an ideal pair for platooning. , two identical tractor-trailers traveling on different highways and miles apart. is not a good candidate for platooning.

[0115] In step 1108, if two or more vehicles for platooning are identified, The NOC will determine the lead and trailing vehicles based on the relative mass estimates of each vehicle. The vehicle with the largest mass is then assigned the lead position. They are ordered from most to least mass, behind the first vehicle. For example, in hilly terrain, the power-to-weight ratio may be chosen rather than the mass. Sometimes that's more important.

[0116] In step 1110, the NOC notifies the vehicles and encourages them to platoon. The mass estimate and position of each vehicle should also be reported to other vehicles in the platoon. do.

[0117] In step 1112, the vehicles discover each other on the road. With help from the NOC , the drivers of the two vehicles will be instructed to meet up and join a platoon.

[0118] Finally, in step 1114, the vehicle takes its assigned position sequence and, upon contact, If two or more vehicles are traveling in a platoon, all vehicles There is no need for the two vehicles to converge in one place to start the platoon. It is also possible to start platooning at a location and then have other vehicles join at subsequent locations. As additional vehicles join, all vehicles will move in a direction that is similar to the direction of the vehicle with the largest mass, for example, leading the way. The vehicle with the least mass follows at the rear of the platoon (or is partially or entirely (based on the masses of both bodies), and their allocation within the platoon as determined by relative mass estimates. Take the assigned position.

[0119] There are many reasons for assigning the largest vehicle to the lead position in the platoon, including: do. (1) In principle, the greater the mass of a vehicle, the more likely it is that the vehicle's braking ability will be reduced. For example, a vehicle with a higher mass will have a higher As a result, the axle load increases, the vehicle experiences more fade, and requires more brake pressure. , placing more stress on the braking system. As a result, vehicles with a larger mass typically have less predictable braking and slower and / or slower speeds during braking events. Therefore, the vehicle with the largest mass should be placed in the leading position. By placing the vehicle in a position that reduces the risk of the leading vehicle being hit by a following vehicle during a braking event. is reduced. (2) Massive vehicles, in principle, have a lower power-to-weight ratio and therefore are considered "more Also, in the case of platooning, the following position can accelerate more quickly. It is generally advantageous to have vehicles that are in a platooning mode. It is often necessary to accelerate relative to the leading vehicle to maintain the desired gap distance. If a slower, heavier vehicle is in the trailing position, the trailing vehicle will increase its speed and reach the desired position. Maintaining a gap between

[0120] Usually, the vehicle with the largest mass is assigned the leading position in the platoon, but this is by no means necessary. It should be understood that this is not a requirement. There are several reasons why a vehicle with a 300cc engine will actually have better braking performance than one with a 300cc engine. For example: Vehicles with smaller masses have poorly maintained brake systems and are more susceptible to wear. Less grip is possible with worn tires and worn brake pads can cause high levels of For these and other reasons, ,Vehicles with heavier masses actually have better braking performance than vehicles with lower masses. Also, vehicles with lower masses are likely to be more susceptible to collisions than vehicles with higher masses. For example, in a two-tractor trailer, the payload is heavy and does not necessarily accelerate quickly. The power-to-weight ratio of a vehicle equipped with a payload is actually lower than that of other vehicles equipped with lower mass payloads. The vehicle has a larger engine with more horsepower than a vehicle carrying a higher mass payload. If the vehicle is equipped with a payload, it may be larger than other vehicles equipped with a lower mass payload. For at least these reasons, it is recommended to place a vehicle with a smaller mass at the front of the platoon. Therefore, the NOC may require that a platoon of two or more vehicles be Whether it is appropriate and, if so, the proper order for organizing the vehicles into platoons Many factors are often taken into account when determining the relative quality of the vehicle. volume, type or class of vehicle, relative braking capabilities of the vehicles, relative power-to-weight ratio of the vehicles; This includes, but is not limited to, the maintenance status of the vehicle.

[0121] Once established, the relative mass estimates of the vehicles in the platoon are generated by the lead vehicle. This is useful for scaling commands that use

[0122] Figure 12 shows how the trailing vehicle determines the distance between the leading vehicle in the platoon based on the relative mass estimation between the two vehicles. 12 is a flow diagram 1200 illustrating method steps for scaling motion commands received from both be.

[0123] In step 1202, the lead vehicle receives an actuator signal or an acceleration, speed or generates the action command to be taken by the lead vehicle in the form of a position profile, and For example, the action can be a throttle command or a brake command. In either case, the commands are usually of a certain magnitude (i.e., Acceleration or deceleration measured in meters, engine torque, brake torque, brake Define the pressure (e.g., brake pressure).

[0124] In step 1204, the following vehicle interprets the received command and determines the direction of travel of the leading vehicle. Check the expected behavior.

[0125] In step 1206, the trailing vehicle determines the relative mass of the leading and trailing vehicles based on the relative mass estimates of the leading and trailing vehicles. In a non-exclusive embodiment, the scaling factor of the command is determined based on the The coefficient ("SF") is a function of the magnitude of the command (M) and the mass estimate of the following vehicle (ME follo wing ) is used to estimate the mass of the leading vehicle (ME leading ) and multiply by the defined ratio In equation form, SC is calculated as follows: SF = M × (ME following / ME leading )

[0126] The SC is not necessarily based strictly on the ratio of the mass estimates of the two vehicles. It should be understood that the types of vehicles involved, the number of trailers (if any) towed by either vehicle (if applicable), maintenance records, tire pressure and / or condition of both vehicles, engine type, braking system and / or transmission of each vehicle, as well as driving and Many other factors may also be taken into account, such as the location of the vehicle and / or road conditions. If you are descending a large mountain pass, you can adjust the scaling of the command to Therefore, the term scaling as used herein refers to the strict scaling of estimated mass between vehicles. Interpreted broadly to mean both a tight ratio and a ratio that adjusts for a wide variety of considerations It should be understood that this should be done.

[0127] In step 1208, the following vehicle is scaled using the calculated scaling factor. For example, the leading track, which has a large mass, is subjected to high voltage. If a braking command is issued, it will take the rear truck to achieve the same deceleration as the leading truck. The brakes know that they can use less braking pressure and therefore are more likely to brake the following vehicles with smaller masses. The vehicle can reduce the application of brake pressure. Similarly, the throttle command can be used to This allows the trailing vehicle to perform better for the same torque application compared to the leading vehicle which has a higher mass. Because the vehicle behind accelerates at a faster rate, the vehicle behind reduces throttle response. A trailing vehicle may slow its acceleration and / or deceleration relative to a leading vehicle with a higher mass. The ability to scale enhances gap control between the two vehicles.

[0128] As an illustrative example, an 80,000 lbs lead truck (e.g., a fully loaded tractor) a 53-foot trailer loaded with a 40,000-lbs. truck (e.g. Consider two trucks (one with an almost empty trailer and one with a tractor). The drag is due to rolling resistance (which increases with increasing mass) and wind resistance (which also increases with increasing mass). To overcome this, the engine can output 25% more torque. The track's system uses this knowledge to close the loop (using gap control). You can determine the starting point of the torque to be applied (before the first track), for example, 100 0 N-m may be applied to the front truck and 800 N-m may be applied to the rear truck. The front truck may require an additional 500 N-m. The rear truck may require, for example, Based on this, it can be determined that the rear truck only needs about 250 N-m more. can.

[0129] Figure 13 shows how the vehicle uses mass estimation to control vehicle operations and systems. 13 is a diagram 1300 listing the types of calculations that can be used. For example, whether the calculations are performed by the vehicle itself. , or wirelessly received from a data processing center such as a NOC. The estimation can be used to control or affect the operation of the vehicle itself. Such actions include path planning (e.g. braking or swerving / steering) ring), vehicle control (e.g. steering angle, braking force for a given deceleration, or torque Determination of the magnitude of the request) and / or specific on-board actuators to implement the above. These may include vehicle parameters (e.g., steering torque, brake pressure, throttle, etc.). One situation where estimating the mass of a vehicle is useful is route planning. This is important because it is one of the main factors that determine whether a certain trajectory is feasible. Consider a situation where a Kuta-Trailer encounters an obstacle on the road ahead, such as a parked car. The preemptive measures to be taken to avoid a collision may vary depending on the mass of the tractor-trailer. If the trailer is loaded with heavy cargo (e.g., high mass), sudden swarfing may occur. This can be dangerous and may cause the trailer to tip over or not follow the desired trajectory. Therefore, in these cases, the vehicle must use quality control to determine the route it should follow. For example, braking is preferred over swerving in such a scenario. This decision can be communicated to the driver. or alternatively, can communicate with an autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle and provide steering assistance. Instead, a braking action is performed.

[0130] Mass estimation is used intelligently for the control of various systems and actuators on the vehicle. This may be done.

[0131] For example, in a braking event, the magnitude of the braking force and therefore the braking force applied by the brake actuator The amount of braking pressure generated can be scaled according to the mass of the vehicle. If the truck-trailer wants to brake at a speed of (-0.2 meters per second), the brake The amount of braking force and pressure generated by the braking system varies depending on the mass of the tractor-trailer. If the mass is large, the braking force and pressure will be adjusted upwards. For low mass vehicles, both can be reduced. This decision is based on the hardness of the braking system. It can also be based on other factors such as hardware and software. For example, a larger braking force A vehicle with more brake chambers will get more out of the same braking pressure. may provide a deceleration of

[0132] Acceleration events can similarly be scaled based at least in part on mass. Typically, a low mass tractor trailer with a given acceleration (e.g., +0.3 meters per second) In comparison, a higher mass requires more engine torque. In addition to the torque rating, the vehicle's speed of response to the application of torque is also considered, based on mass. The controller response can also be adjusted based on the mass. This is the steering position control loop (the target is the steering angle, and the the magnitude of the steering torque to be applied) or the desired trajectory In the former case, it is important to select the steering angle to satisfy the following: Torque is generated from the axle weight and vehicle dynamics proportional to the vehicle mass It depends directly on the force. In the case of steering angle, given the speed and steering angle, The trajectory that the vehicle follows depends on the mass of the vehicle. The above examples are merely illustrative and not limiting. In practical implementations, the vehicle mass estimates should be used to , to control in whole or in part almost any system or actuator on the vehicle. Such systems include fuel injection systems, knock control systems, suspension systems, etc. Control systems, engine controller systems, autonomous or semi-autonomous cruise control systems systems, cruise control systems and / or automatic transmission control systems These include, but are not limited to:

[0133] Figure 14 shows the data processing used to determine the mass estimate for a vehicle with reset functionality. 14 shows a processing pipeline 1400. As mentioned above, the mass of the vehicle is Model the forces, measure the vehicle's acceleration, and calculate the mass using Newton's second law , and is subsequently calculated by averaging a number of mass estimation samples over time.

[0134] In this non-exclusive embodiment, the data pipeline 1400 includes a bad data mask 14 02, a finite impulse response (FIR) filter 1404, a vehicle model module 1406 , and an averaging module 1408.

[0135] As mentioned above, the Pipeline 1400 can measure engine torque, transmission ratio, GPS or Sensors that may contain data indicative of positioning information, wheel speeds, and / or braking events Receive data from the vehicle.

[0136] The bad data mask 1402 is collected while the vehicle is traveling on a particularly bumpy road. Sensor data collected while the vehicle was traveling at very low speeds (e.g., below 9 mph) data collected by road traffic or GPS information collected while a vehicle passes under a bridge or through a tunnel and the ability to filter or remove data that is deemed "bad" or inaccurate. It works.

[0137] Once the bad data is removed, the remaining data is filtered by the FIR filter 1404. This is achieved by a low pass cutoff frequency of 0.5 Hz in a non-exclusive embodiment. can be applied to the data. The advantage of applying FIR filtering is that the detected data The advantages are that it removes phase lag from the converter and provides a well-defined "wind-up" time. do.

[0138] The filtered sensor data is then applied to the vehicle model module 1406. Within module 1406, certain sensor data may be masked or rejected, for example: ,The sensing data collected during the braking event and for a short time (e.g., 5 seconds) after the event, Braking force is usually removed due to the difficulty of modeling it. Data collected during periods of high torque and / or high gear ratios may also affect the vehicle under these conditions. The forces involved are often difficult to model and can therefore be masked. When a command is issued, module 1406 creates a force model for the specified vehicle. The model depends on a number of model parameters (e.g., wheel diameter, engine and rear (turbo efficiency, engine inertia, aerodynamic drag coefficient, etc.). From these parameters, the total load on the vehicle is calculated. Force action (F total ) can be modeled using: (1)F total =m×a total , where: (2)F total =F engine -F aero_drag -F rolling_r esistance ,and (3)a total =a measured +gravity×sin(grade)

[0139] By periodically sampling the sensor data and running it through module 1406 This generates multiple mass estimate (m) samples, which are then averaged. For example, if a large number of samples are generated over a period of time, the averaged values ​​are calculated by the filter 1408. , are plotted. Once the samples have "converged", an accurate estimate of the vehicle's mass is achieved.

[0140] For more details on Pipeline 1400, see Holm and Bae, Rye and G See the above-mentioned publication by Erdes, both of which are incorporated herein by reference. It shall be included.

[0141] The above-described pipeline 1400 is merely exemplary and any existing or future developed pipeline may be used. It should be noted that other mass estimation algorithms may also be used. In this regard, the specific pipelines described and illustrated herein are not limited in any way. should not be construed as

[0142] Regardless of the mass estimation algorithm or data pipeline used, Applicant believes that: as implemented by a reset module 1410 provided in the pipeline 1400. We are not aware of any instances where the reset function is relied upon. The reset module 1410 may be configured to perform specific reset operations as described in the following two embodiments. If a situation arises, reset the pipeline and use new sensor data to generate a new mass estimate. can be used to start

[0143] In a non-exclusive embodiment, two mass estimation pipeline calculations are performed in parallel. 1 or 1st order is a "long horizon" mass estimation pipeline calculation, while the 2nd order is a Or second order is a "short horizon" mass estimation pipeline calculation.

[0144] The first or primary calculation runs indefinitely as long as the vehicle is running and moving. 1 or the primary calculation is when the vehicle stops moving for more than a threshold time (e.g., 1 minute, 5 minutes, etc.). If such a stop occurs, the vehicle will stop after it resumes operation. Volumes can change dramatically, for example, trucks may deliver goods while parked, or or swapping trailers, both of which can result in significant changes in mass. To account for this possibility, the first calculation discards already collected sensor data and restarts the operation. The mass estimation calculation is restarted using new data collected after the restart.

[0145] On the other hand, the second or second order mass estimation calculations are performed over a short time interval (e.g., 2 minutes, 5 minutes, etc.). Once the time interval expires, the previously collected sensor data is discarded. , the second mass estimation calculation is performed if the vehicle is still operating and moving, and the newly detected The second or secondary calculation is performed for a short period of time and is therefore reset using the Generally (but not necessarily) more accurate and stable than first or primary calculations Although this reduces accuracy, the second-order calculations do not account for how mass changes from one time interval to the next. In various embodiments, the interval is fixed and this This means that the expiration of each fixed interval causes a reset of the second mass estimation calculation. In an alternative embodiment, the short time interval may vary or may be between multiple reset time intervals. A range may be defined.

[0146] Comparison of primary and secondary mass estimates, performed in parallel, provides useful "health" results. If the difference between the two is less than a threshold such as 10% to 15%, , a strong indication that the mass of the vehicle has not changed significantly and that the first-order calculations are accurate. On the other hand, exceeding the threshold indicates that the vehicle mass may have changed significantly. A flag is set. As a result, the mass estimation calculation is considered compromised and the first or primary phase The pipeline 1400 is reset by a reset module 1410 .

[0147] FIG. 15 shows the steps for performing the first and second mass estimation calculations with the reset function 1408. A flowchart 1500 of the steps is shown.

[0148] In a first step 1502, it is determined whether the vehicle is moving.

[0149] If the vehicle is moving, the primary and secondary mass estimates are performed in steps 1504 and 1505, respectively. They will start in parallel in 2008.

[0150] In step 1506, if the vehicle has not stopped for more than the threshold time, the primary mass The constant calculation is performed infinitely.

[0151] The primary mass estimation calculation is performed in step 1507 if the vehicle has been stopped for more than the threshold time. and is reset by module 1410.

[0152] Once the vehicle resumes movement, as determined in step 1502, step 1504 The first mass estimation calculation will then be resumed.

[0153] In parallel, a secondary mass estimation calculation is performed in step 1508 .

[0154] At decision 1510, a determination is made as to whether the short measurement period has expired. If so, the reset module resets the secondary mass calculation in step 1511. .

[0155] If the vehicle continues to move after the reset, steps 1508, 1510 and and step 1511 are repeated continuously.

[0156] As a result, the primary and secondary calculations produce a continuous mass estimate while the vehicle is moving. are.

[0157] In step 1512, the primary and secondary mass estimation calculations are continuously compared. If the value is less than a certain value (e.g., 10%-15%), the above process is repeated continuously. do.

[0158] On the other hand, if the difference is greater than a threshold, the primary mass estimate is flagged as compromised. If a specified threshold is exceeded, it is assumed that something has happened that corrupts the primary mass estimate. As a result, the primary mass estimate is reset in step 1507 and the process begins anew. It starts with new data.

[0159] When vehicles are operating in platoons, mass estimation calculations may be considered compromised. In this case, any number of actions can be taken, for example, breaking up the platoon as a safety measure. Or the gap can be widened. If the next and second mass estimates are again within the threshold, resume platooning and / or The gap can be reduced.

[0160] In yet another embodiment, the reset function performed by module 1410 is It can also be used in other settings that may not be suitable for toning. Here are some: Here is an example:

[0161] In a tractor trailer, sudden changes in mass can occur in a short period of time. For example, a tractor There may be times when trailers need to be loaded or unloaded, or when trailers need to be switched over in a short period of time. The trailer may become significantly heavier or lighter after such a change. do.

[0162] Certain vehicles, such as gravel trucks, may load cargo (e.g., gravel) from the rear while moving at slow speeds. They may be discarded.

[0163] The mass of a vehicle can also vary greatly depending on its location. Picking up new concrete at a concrete yard increases the mass significantly, but When the concrete is poured, the mass decreases significantly.

[0164] In each of the above scenarios, the mass of the vehicle changed dramatically. Using the module 1410, new security measures can be implemented based on time, speed, or location. The mass estimation calculation is reset using sensor data to remove old data that is no longer accurate. is discarded.

[0165] FIG. 16 optionally includes a vehicle stop, speed, location, or any combination thereof. 16 shows a flow diagram 1600 for resetting a vehicle's mass estimate.

[0166] In a first step 1602, it is determined whether the vehicle is moving.

[0167] In step 1604, if the vehicle is moving, a mass estimation calculation is initiated.

[0168] In step 1606, it is determined whether the reset condition has been met. If not, the above process is repeated as long as the vehicle is moving. If so, the reset module 1410 resets the mass calculation estimate in step 1608. .

[0169] When a reset occurs as provided in step 1608, perform a mass estimation calculation. The step is stopped until the reset condition is no longer met. If not, the process described above begins at step 1602. Restarting the Mass Estimation Calculation can either be paused or reset. In the former case, when the calculation is resumed, At least some of the existing data used in the calculation before the stop is used. When you stop the program, all previous data is discarded and a new calculation starts from the data collected after the program has stopped. It will begin.

[0170] As mentioned above, the reset condition can be time, speed, location, or any combination thereof. For example, in different embodiments, the reset may be based on one of It may be implemented only if one or all three conditions are met.

[0171] Accordingly, the present embodiments are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the present invention is not limited to the embodiments set forth herein. The present invention should not be limited to the details given in this specification, but should be construed as being within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. It can be modified within the scope of the object.

Claims

1. receiving, at a data processing center, sensor data from a first vehicle and a second vehicle; performing, at the data processing center, mass estimation of the first vehicle and the second vehicle using sensor data received from the first vehicle and the second vehicle, respectively; determining, based on the estimated masses of the first vehicle and the second vehicle, that the first vehicle should assume a leading position in the platoon and that the second vehicle should assume a trailing position; adjusting the platoon between the first vehicle and the second vehicle, the first vehicle taking a leading position and the second vehicle taking a trailing position; configuring the estimated mass of the first vehicle to be shared with the second vehicle; configuring the first vehicle to share brake and torque commands generated by the first vehicle with the second vehicle; configuring the second vehicle to scale the brake and torque commands received from the first vehicle while the first vehicle is leading the platoon, the scaling of the brake and torque commands being based at least in part on a relative difference between estimated masses of the two vehicles; operating the second vehicle in accordance with the scaled brake and torque commands; Including, the step of performing mass estimation of the first vehicle and the second vehicle includes performing a calculation of a first mass estimation and a second mass estimation of the first vehicle and a calculation of a first mass estimation and a second mass estimation of the second vehicle, and performing a comparison of the first mass estimation with the second mass estimation of the first vehicle and a comparison of the first mass estimation with the second mass estimation of the second vehicle, thereby performing mass estimation of the first vehicle and the second vehicle; The method, wherein the second mass estimate operates over a shorter time interval than the first mass estimate.

2. The step of determining leading and trailing positions of the first vehicle and the second vehicle further includes: comparing the estimated masses of the first vehicle and the second vehicle; determining that one of the first vehicle and the second vehicle that is determined to have a larger estimated mass will travel in a leading position; determining that one of the first vehicle and the second vehicle determined to have a smaller estimated mass will travel at a subsequent location; The method of claim 1 , comprising:

3. The step of adjusting the platoon further comprises: identifying the first vehicle and the second vehicle; instructing the first vehicle and the second vehicle to join a platoon; sharing the leading and trailing positions with the first and second vehicles so that both vehicles are aware of their positions in the event of contact; The method of claim 1 , comprising:

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of sharing the estimated mass of the first vehicle with the second vehicle.

5. The sensor data received at the data processing center includes: engine torque command, Actual supplied engine torque, gear ratio, GPS or location information, wheel speed, Braking Event tire pressure, tire condition, the presence or location of aerodynamic aids; trailer configuration, Number of trailers, and / or One or more trailer axles The method of claim 1 , wherein the sensor data includes sensor data for one or more of:

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the sensor data at the data processing center further comprises receiving the sensor data from the first vehicle and the second vehicle via a wireless communication network.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein coordinating the platoon further comprises communicating with the first vehicle and the second vehicle via a wireless communication network.

8. receiving the sensor data from a number of vehicles at the data processing center; coordinating a plurality of platoons among said plurality of vehicles; The method of claim 1 further comprising:

9. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the platoon includes one or more additional vehicles in addition to the first vehicle and the second vehicle, and the vehicles are arranged in the platoon in order from front to back from largest estimated mass to smallest estimated mass, respectively.

10. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the data processing center is a network operations center (NOC) configured to remotely coordinate platooning between multiple tractor-trailers, and wherein each of the multiple tractor-trailers reports sensor data to the NOC such that the NOC can selectively coordinate platooning between the multiple tractor-trailers.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first vehicle and the second vehicle are both tractor-trailer trucks.

12. generating sensor data for a first vehicle; calculating an estimated mass of the first vehicle based on the generated sensor data; sharing the calculated estimated mass of the first vehicle with one or more additional vehicles; organizing the first vehicle and one or more other vehicles to operate in a platoon; sharing brake and torque commands generated by the first vehicle with the one or more other vehicles; at the one or more other vehicles, scaling the brake and torque commands shared between the first vehicle and the one or more other vehicles based at least in part on the calculated estimated mass of the first vehicle; operating the one or more other vehicles using the scaled brake and torque commands while operating in the platoon; Including, The step of calculating an estimated mass of the first vehicle includes performing a calculation of a first mass estimation and a second mass estimation of the first vehicle, and performing a comparison between the first mass estimation and the second mass estimation of the first vehicle to estimate the mass of the first vehicle; The method, wherein the second mass estimate operates over a shorter time interval than the first mass estimate.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the calculation of the estimated mass of the first vehicle is performed on the first vehicle.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the calculation of the estimated mass of the first vehicle is performed on the one or more additional vehicles.

15. The method of claim 12 , wherein the calculation of the estimated mass of the first vehicle is performed at a Network Operations Center (NOC).

16. The sensor data of the first vehicle includes: (a) engine torque, (b) gear ratio; (c) GPS or location information; (d) wheel speed; (e) braking events; (f) actual delivered engine torque; (g) tire pressure; (h) tire condition; (i) the presence or location of aerodynamic aids; (j) any trailer configuration; (k) the number of trailers; and / or (l) One or more trailer axles The method of claim 12, comprising one or more of:

17. The sensor data used to calculate an estimated mass of the first vehicle: (a) engine torque, (b) gear ratio; (c) GPS or location information; (d) wheel speed; (e) actual delivered engine torque; (f) tire pressure; (g) tire condition; (h) The presence or location of aerodynamic aids; (i) any trailer configuration; (j) the number of trailers; and / or (k) One or more trailer axles The method of claim 12 , wherein the sensor data includes one or more of:

18. sharing the calculated estimated mass of the first vehicle with a second vehicle; sharing a second estimated mass of the second vehicle with the first vehicle; The method of claim 12 further comprising:

19. detecting the occurrence of a braking event on the first vehicle; excluding the sensor data from a calculation of estimated mass during the detected braking event; The method of claim 12 further comprising:

20. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein sharing the calculated estimated mass of the first vehicle with the one or more additional vehicles further comprises wirelessly transmitting the calculated estimated mass from the first vehicle to the one or more additional vehicles.

21. The step of sharing the calculated mass estimate of the first vehicle with one or more additional vehicles further includes: wirelessly transmitting the first vehicle's sensing data to a data processing center; performing a calculation of a mass estimate of the first vehicle at the data processing center; wirelessly transmitting the calculated mass estimate from the data processing center to the one or more additional vehicles; 13. The method of claim 12, comprising:

22. further comprising the step of forming the first vehicle and the one or more additional vehicles; The method of claim 12 , further comprising using the calculated mass estimate of the first vehicle to determine the position of the first vehicle relative to the one or more additional vehicles during a formation.

23. further comprising the step of forming the first vehicle and the one or more additional vehicles; The method of claim 12 , further comprising using the calculated mass estimate of the first vehicle to determine a velocity of the first vehicle relative to the one or more additional vehicles during formation.

24. 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising configuring the first vehicle and one or more additional vehicles to operate in a platoon such that the vehicle with the largest mass estimate is in a lead position, with the remaining vehicles following in order from largest to smallest mass estimate, respectively.

25. 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising organizing the first vehicle and the one or more other vehicles in a platoon such that the first vehicle leads the platoon and the one or more other vehicles follow in the platoon.

26. generating sensor data for a first vehicle, the sensor data usable to estimate a first mass of the first vehicle; calculating a mass estimate for the first vehicle based on the generated sensor data; sharing the calculated mass estimate of the first vehicle with one or more additional vehicles; adjusting a platoon between the first vehicle and the one or more additional vehicles, wherein a position of the first vehicle in the platoon assigned to the one or more additional vehicles in the platoon is determined at least in part by a mass estimate of the first vehicle; directing the first vehicle and the one or more additional vehicles to assemble and join the platoon; and After the first vehicle has assembled with the one or more additional vehicles, it takes a position in the platoon that is assigned to the one or more additional vehicles. adjusting the platoon, which involves steps; Including, The step of calculating a mass estimate of the first vehicle includes calculating a first mass estimate and a second mass estimate of the first vehicle, and performing a comparison between the first mass estimate and the second mass estimate of the first vehicle to estimate the mass of the first vehicle; The method, wherein the second mass estimate operates over a shorter time interval than the first mass estimate.

27. 27. The method of claim 26, wherein the calculation of the mass estimate of the first vehicle is performed on the first vehicle.

28. 27. The method of claim 26, wherein the calculation of the mass estimate of the first vehicle is performed on the one or more additional vehicles.

29. 27. The method of claim 26, wherein the calculation of the first vehicle mass estimate is performed at a Network Operations Center (NOC).

30. The sensor data of the first vehicle includes: (a) engine torque, (b) gear ratio; (c) GPS or location information; (d) wheel speed; (e) braking events; (f) actual delivered engine torque; (g) tire pressure; (h) tire condition; (i) the presence or location of aerodynamic aids; (j) any trailer configuration; (k) the number of trailers; and / or (l) One or more trailer axles 27. The method of claim 26, comprising data collected from or indicative of one or more of:

31. The sensor data used to calculate a mass estimate of the first vehicle: (a) engine torque, (b) gear ratio; (c) GPS or location information, and / or (d) wheel speed; (e) actual delivered engine torque; (f) tire pressure; (g) tire condition; (h) The presence or location of aerodynamic aids; (i) any trailer configuration; (j) the number of trailers; and / or (k) One or more trailer axles 27. The method of claim 26, comprising data collected from or indicative of one or more of:

32. sharing the calculated mass estimate of the first vehicle with a second vehicle; sharing a second mass calculation estimate of the second vehicle with the first vehicle; 27. The method of claim 26, further comprising:

33. 27. The method of claim 26, wherein sharing the calculated mass estimate of the first vehicle with the one or more additional vehicles further comprises wirelessly transmitting the calculated mass estimate from the first vehicle to the one or more additional vehicles.

34. The step of sharing the calculated mass estimate of the first vehicle with one or more additional vehicles further includes: wirelessly transmitting the first vehicle's sensing data to a data processing center; performing a calculation of a mass estimate of the first vehicle at the data processing center; wirelessly transmitting the calculated mass estimate from the data processing center to the one or more additional vehicles; 27. The method of claim 26, comprising:

35. 27. The method of claim 26, further comprising using the calculated mass estimate of the first vehicle to determine a velocity of the first vehicle relative to the one or more additional vehicles during platooning.

36. 27. The method of claim 26, further comprising configuring the first vehicle and one or more additional vehicles to operate in a platoon such that the vehicle having the largest mass estimate is in a lead position, with the remaining vehicles following in order from largest to smallest mass estimate, respectively.

37. scaling, at the one or more other vehicles while operating in a platoon, commands generated by the first vehicle and shared with the one or more other vehicles, the commands being based at least in part on a calculated mass estimate of the first vehicle.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising:

38. 38. The method of claim 37, further comprising organizing the first vehicle and the one or more other vehicles in a platoon such that the first vehicle leads the platoon and the one or more other vehicles follow in the platoon.

39. The command (a) a brake command, (b) a torque command, or (c) both brake and torque commands 38. The method of claim 37, wherein

40. 27. The method of claim 26, wherein the step of grouping with one or more other vehicles occurs at one or more locations.

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