Intelligent power distribution method and apparatus for vehicle

Abstract

An intelligent power distribution method and apparatus for a vehicle, the method comprising: determining a power consumption scene for a vehicle; and on the basis of the power consumption scene for the vehicle, issuing a power-on instruction to an area controller, such that the area controller only enables the power supply by a storage battery to a first-type electric device involved in the power consumption scene.

Description

Vehicle intelligent power distribution method and device

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese patent application No. 202311428311.3 filed on October 31, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to the field of vehicle technology, and in particular to a vehicle intelligent power distribution method and device. Background Art

[0004] A vehicle control network with a central computing architecture consists of a central computing unit (CCU) and multiple regional controllers. The CCU communicates with each regional controller, as well as between any two regional controllers. Each regional controller manages multiple power-consuming devices. Traditional power distribution solutions for this control network rarely differentiate the power supply to these devices. This results in a large number of devices being powered even when they don't need to be in certain scenarios, leading to high power consumption for the entire vehicle.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] By utilizing one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a vehicle intelligent power distribution method and device are provided, which solves the technical problem of how to reduce the power consumption of the entire vehicle.

[0007] In one aspect of the present disclosure, a method for intelligent vehicle power distribution is provided, which is applied to a central computing unit of a central computing architecture. The central computing architecture includes the central computing unit, a regional controller, a first category of electrical devices, and a battery. The central computing unit is in communication with the regional controller, and the battery supplies power to the first category of electrical devices via the regional controller. The regional controller is configured to connect the battery to the first category of electrical devices upon receiving a power-on instruction from the central computing unit. The method includes: determining a vehicle's power usage scenario; and, based on the power usage scenario, issuing the power-on instruction to the regional controller, so that the regional controller only connects the battery to power the first category of electrical devices participating in the power usage scenario.

[0008] In another aspect of the present disclosure, a vehicle intelligent power distribution device is provided, which is applied to the central computing unit of a central computing architecture. The central computing architecture includes the central computing unit, a regional controller, a first category of electrical equipment, and a battery. The central computing unit is in communication with the regional controller. The battery supplies power to the first category of electrical equipment via the regional controller. The regional controller is configured to connect the battery to the first category of electrical equipment after receiving a power-on instruction from the central computing unit. The device includes: a determination module for determining the vehicle's power usage scenario; and an instruction module for issuing the power-on instruction to the regional controller based on the power usage scenario, so that the regional controller only connects the battery to supply power to the first category of electrical equipment participating in the power usage scenario.

[0009] In another aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device is provided, comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor implements any of the above-mentioned vehicle intelligent power distribution methods when executing the computer program.

[0010] In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements any of the above-mentioned vehicle intelligent power distribution methods. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for describing the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are drawings of some embodiments of the present disclosure, and those skilled in the art can also derive other drawings based on these drawings without inventive effort.

[0012] FIG1 is a schematic structural diagram of a vehicle intelligent power distribution system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0013] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle network topology according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0014] FIG3 is a flow chart of a vehicle intelligent power distribution method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0015] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle intelligent power distribution device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] In order to better understand the technical solutions of the present disclosure, the technical solutions of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific implementation methods.

[0017] As shown in Figure 1, an intelligent vehicle power distribution system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a central computing unit, a regional controller, first-category electric users, second-category electric users, a mains electric device, and a battery. The battery supplies power to the first-category electric users and the second-category electric users via the regional controller, and the battery maintains a constant connection with the mains electric devices. The central computing unit is in communication with the regional controller and can issue power-on and power-off commands to the regional controller. Upon receiving a power-on command, the regional controller can connect the battery to the first-category electric user or the second-category electric user corresponding to the power-on command, automatically connect the battery to the second-category electric user upon awakening, and disconnect the battery from the first-category electric user or the second-category electric user corresponding to the power-off command upon receiving a power-off command. In some embodiments, if the central computing unit does not issue a power-off command to the second-category electric user during the regional controller's current wake-up cycle, the regional controller can also automatically disconnect the battery from the second-category electric user after returning to sleep mode.

[0018] Category 1 and category 2 power-consuming devices are devices with controlled power supply. Category 1 power-consuming devices have only one power supply mode: power-on is controlled solely by a power-on command from the central computing unit, and power-off is controlled solely by a power-off command from the central computing unit. Category 2 power-consuming devices have different power supply modes from category 1 devices. They can automatically connect to the battery after the regional controller wakes up. During the regional controller's current wake-up cycle, they can also be powered off by the central computing unit issuing a power-off command and then powered on again by the central computing unit issuing a power-on command. If the central computing unit does not issue a power-off command to a category 2 power-consuming device during the regional controller's current wake-up cycle, the regional controller will automatically disconnect the battery from the device after it goes into hibernation. In other words, category 1 power-consuming devices are powered on and off by the central computing unit, while category 2 power-consuming devices can be powered on and off automatically by the regional controller after waking up, or powered on and off automatically by the regional controller after it goes into hibernation. Alternatively, category 2 power-consuming devices can be powered on and off automatically by the regional controller after waking up, or powered on and off automatically by the central computing unit during the regional controller's wake-up cycle. The permanent power equipment is an electrical device that cannot be disconnected from the power supply even when the vehicle is dormant. The battery and the permanent power equipment can be kept in permanent connection by either directly connecting the battery to the permanent power equipment or by using a regional controller to keep the battery in permanent connection with the permanent power equipment.

[0019] The zone controller has a built-in MCU and driver chip. The MCU communicates with each driver chip and controls the on / off switching of each driver chip. When a driver chip is on, the battery powers the corresponding Category 1 or Category 2 device through the driver chip. When the driver chip is off, the corresponding Category 1 or Category 2 device is de-energized. The driver chip can be an integrated HSD chip (high-side driver) or a pre-driver + MOS chip.

[0020] In traditional vehicle power distribution systems, most electrical equipment is powered in a constant power mode. After the vehicle goes into sleep mode, a large number of constant power equipment continue to be powered, resulting in static current and high static power consumption of the entire vehicle. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the central computing unit can issue a power-off instruction to control the regional controller to disconnect the battery from supplying power to the first and second category electrical equipment after the vehicle goes into sleep mode. Only a small amount of constant power equipment will have static current, reducing the static power consumption of the entire vehicle. In addition, in order to meet the needs of the entire vehicle to wake up from sleep mode, the constant power equipment needs to add a network management function, while the first and second category electrical equipment can cancel the network management function, reducing development costs.

[0021] After the central computing unit is awakened and before initialization is completed, the power-on instruction cannot be issued. Considering that the second type of electrical equipment has high requirements for real-time power supply, power supply cannot be achieved only by the central computing unit issuing power-on instructions. Excessive power-on delay also affects user perception. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the second type of electrical equipment can also be automatically powered on after the regional controller is awakened, which can meet the real-time power supply requirements of the second type of electrical equipment.

[0022] As shown in Figure 2, in the network topology of the vehicle, the zone controller may include a front zone controller, a left zone controller, and a right zone controller. The first-category electrical devices and the second-category electrical devices may include an electronic parking controller, a front motor controller, a transmission controller, a range extender controller, an electromagnetic shock absorber controller, a left headlight controller, a right headlight controller, a right rear fixed side combination lamp, a left rear fixed side combination lamp, a movable side combination lamp, a tailgate ambient lamp, a rear motor controller, a wireless charging controller, a steering column switch controller, a left front door module, a right front door module, a left rear door module, a right rear door module, an electronic shifter, a driver's seat belt pretensioner motor, a passenger seat belt pretensioner motor, an airbag controller, etc. It should be noted that the respective categories of electrical consumers mentioned above are not specifically specified here. These can be determined based on the actual needs of the vehicle. For example, Category 1 electrical consumers may include the electronic parking controller, front motor controller, transmission controller, range extender controller, electromagnetic shock absorber controller, left and right headlamp controller, right and left rear fixed side combination lamps, mobile side combination lamps, and tailgate ambient lighting. Category 2 electrical consumers may include the rear motor controller, wireless charging controller, steering column switch controller, left and right front door modules, left and right rear door modules, electronic shifter, driver and passenger seatbelt pretensioner motors, and airbag controllers. Conventional electrical consumers may include integrated power braking systems, active stability control systems, electronic power steering systems, engine management systems, onboard chargers, battery management systems, Bluetooth controllers, battery charge sensors, TBOX (Telematics Box), and onboard diagnostic systems. The central computing unit, the front area controller, the left area controller, and the right area controller can be connected through a Backbone network segment.

[0023] The vehicle intelligent power distribution method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is applied to a central computing unit of a central computing architecture. As shown in FIG3 , the vehicle intelligent power distribution method includes:

[0024] Step S1, determining the vehicle's power usage scenario;

[0025] Step S2: issuing a power-on instruction to the regional controller based on the power usage scenario, so that the regional controller only turns on the battery to supply power to the first type of power-consuming devices participating in the power usage scenario.

[0026] In principle, there are many power usage scenarios for vehicles, and the actual conditions of each scenario are different. The following will use two scenarios as examples to illustrate the vehicle intelligent power distribution method.

[0027] The first type of power usage scenario may include a low-voltage battery charging scenario; a charging scenario refers to a scenario in which, under certain conditions, when the low-voltage battery power is too low or the voltage is too low, the vehicle's power battery charges the battery, which can prevent the battery from feeding power.

[0028] In some embodiments, the charging scenario can have two working links. One is that the central computing unit wakes up at regular intervals. For example, if it determines that the gear information memorized during the last sleep state meets the charging requirements, it will actively wake up the left and right regional controllers through the Backbone network segment; the left regional controller wakes up the battery management system and the on-board charger, and the central computing unit confirms the power battery status and prepares for high voltage; the right regional controller wakes up the battery power sensor so that the central computing unit can obtain the battery status and determine whether charging is needed. The second is that the battery power sensor will wake up at regular intervals to detect the status of the low-voltage battery and determine whether charging is needed. If charging is required, the battery power sensor will actively wake up the right regional controller, and the right regional controller will wake up the central computing unit and the left regional controller through the Backbone network segment; the left regional controller wakes up the battery management system and the on-board charger; the central computing unit confirms the power battery status, the high-voltage status, and the gear information before the last sleep state to confirm whether to charge the low-voltage battery.

[0029] It can be seen that no matter which working link is used in the charging scenario, only the central computing unit, the left regional controller, the right regional controller, and the conventional electrical equipment such as the battery management system, the on-board charger and the battery power sensor are involved in the charging scenario. No first-category electrical equipment and second-category electrical equipment participate in the charging scenario. In this way, in the charging scenario, the central computing unit can not issue power-on instructions to all first-category electrical equipment, so that the regional controller disconnects the battery from supplying power to all first-category electrical equipment, thereby reducing the power consumption of the entire vehicle in the charging scenario.

[0030] Considering that there is no participation of the second type of electrical equipment in the power replenishment scenario, in order to further reduce the power consumption of the entire vehicle in the power replenishment scenario, in some embodiments, as shown in FIG3 , after step S2, the vehicle intelligent power distribution method may further include:

[0031] Step S3: sending a power-off instruction to the regional controller based on the power usage scenario, so that the regional controller disconnects the battery from supplying power to the second type of power-consuming devices that do not participate in the power usage scenario.

[0032] This is equivalent to having the regional controller disconnect the battery from supplying power to all first-category electrical devices and all second-category electrical devices, which can greatly reduce the power consumption of the entire vehicle in the charging scenario.

[0033] The second type of power usage scenario may include a vehicle usage scenario when the low-voltage battery SOC is lower than a preset threshold; the battery SOC lower than the preset threshold indicates that the battery power is too low. In this vehicle usage scenario, priority should be given to powering electrical equipment that supports the necessary functions of the vehicle, and energy classification management can be performed based on the low-voltage battery SOC value.

[0034] In some embodiments, essential vehicle functions may include driving and safety functions. Therefore, the first category of electrical consumers involved in vehicle usage scenarios must include driving and safety devices, such as condenser fans. Step S2 may control the zone controller to connect the battery only to driving and safety devices in the first category, and disconnect the battery from non-driving and safety devices in the first category, thereby reducing vehicle power consumption when the low-voltage battery SOC falls below a preset threshold.

[0035] Considering that the second category of electrical equipment may also include driving and safety equipment, in order to further reduce the vehicle power consumption when the low-voltage battery SOC is lower than a preset threshold, in some embodiments, after step S2, the vehicle intelligent power distribution method may further include:

[0036] Step S3: sending a power-off instruction to the regional controller based on the power usage scenario, so that the regional controller disconnects the battery from supplying power to the second type of power-consuming devices that do not participate in the power usage scenario.

[0037] This is equivalent to having the regional controller connect only to the battery to power all driving and safety devices in the first category of electrical consumers, and disconnect the battery from powering all non-driving and safety devices in the second category of electrical consumers. In other words, in this vehicle usage scenario, only driving and safety devices are powered, minimizing power consumption. However, this also severely limits vehicle functionality and reduces the user experience. The following example illustrates an energy hierarchical management solution that balances power consumption and vehicle functionality.

[0038] Table 1

[0039] Table 1 shows that some Category 1 and Category 2 electrical devices can be categorized as entertainment, comfort, auxiliary, and driving and safety. As shown in Table 1, as the battery SOC decreases, the entertainment category is prioritized for power outages, followed by comfort, and finally auxiliary. Driving and safety categories remain powered on. The preset threshold can be 70%. The lower the battery SOC, the fewer Category 1 and Category 2 electrical devices participate in vehicle usage scenarios, while the greater the number of Category 1 and Category 2 electrical devices that are not involved. This balances power consumption and vehicle functionality.

[0040] As can be seen from the above, the vehicle intelligent power distribution method of the embodiment of the present disclosure sends a power-on instruction to the regional controller based on the vehicle power usage scenario, so that the regional controller only connects the battery to supply power to the first type of power-consuming equipment participating in the power usage scenario and disconnects the battery from supplying power to the first type of power-consuming equipment not participating in the power usage scenario; and sends a power-off instruction to the regional controller based on the power usage scenario, so that the regional controller disconnects the battery from supplying power to the second type of power-consuming equipment not participating in the power usage scenario; thereby, the regional controller only connects the battery to supply power to the first type of power-consuming equipment and the second type of power-consuming equipment participating in the power usage scenario, thereby reducing the power consumption of the entire vehicle under the power usage scenario.

[0041] As shown in FIG4 , an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a vehicle intelligent power distribution device, which is applied to a central computing unit of a central computing architecture. The vehicle intelligent power distribution device includes:

[0042] A determination module, used to determine the vehicle's power usage scenario;

[0043] The instruction module is used to send a power-on instruction to the regional controller based on the power usage scenario, so that the regional controller only connects the battery to power the first type of power-consuming devices participating in the power usage scenario.

[0044] In some implementations, the instruction module may also be used to:

[0045] Based on the power usage scenario, a power-off instruction is sent to the regional controller, so that the regional controller disconnects the battery from supplying power to the second type of power-consuming equipment that does not participate in the power usage scenario.

[0046] In some embodiments, the first type of electrical equipment can be powered on and off by a central computing unit;

[0047] The regional controller may automatically connect the battery to supply power to the second type of electrical equipment after being awakened and automatically disconnect the battery from supplying power to the second type of electrical equipment after being dormant; and

[0048] While the regional controller is awake, the second type of powered devices can be powered on and off under the control of the central computing unit.

[0049] In some embodiments, the power usage scenario may include a battery charging scenario.

[0050] In some embodiments, the power usage scenario may include a vehicle usage scenario when the battery SOC is lower than a preset threshold; the first category of power-consuming equipment and the second category of power-consuming equipment participating in the vehicle usage scenario may include driving and safety equipment.

[0051] Based on the same inventive concept as the vehicle intelligent power distribution method described above, an embodiment of the present disclosure also provides an electronic device, including a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and runnable on the processor, wherein when the processor executes the computer program, the steps of any one of the vehicle intelligent power distribution methods described above are implemented.

[0052] Since the electronic device described in the embodiments of the present disclosure is the electronic device used to implement the vehicle intelligent power distribution method in the embodiments of the present disclosure, based on the vehicle intelligent power distribution method described in the embodiments of the present disclosure, those skilled in the art will be able to understand the specific implementation methods and various variations of the electronic device in the embodiments of the present disclosure, so how the electronic device implements the method in the embodiments of the present disclosure will not be described in detail here. As long as those skilled in the art implement the electronic device used in the vehicle intelligent power distribution method in the embodiments of the present disclosure, they are within the scope of protection to be provided by the present disclosure.

[0053] In some embodiments, the electronic device may include a vehicle.

[0054] Based on the same inventive concept as the above-mentioned vehicle intelligent power distribution method, the present disclosure also provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements any of the above-mentioned vehicle intelligent power distribution methods.

[0055] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that embodiments of the present disclosure may be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present disclosure may take the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware. Furthermore, the present disclosure may take the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to magnetic disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0056] The present disclosure is described with reference to the flow chart and / or block diagram of the method, device (system), and computer program product according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. It should be understood that each flow process and / or box in the flow chart and / or block diagram and the combination of the flow process and / or box in the flow chart and / or block diagram can be realized by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processing machine or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device produce a device for realizing the function specified in one flow chart flow or multiple flows and / or one box or multiple boxes of the block diagram.

[0057] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce a product including an instruction device that implements the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0058] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operating steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, so that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0059] Although the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been described, those skilled in the art may make changes and modifications to these embodiments in some embodiments once they are aware of the basic creative concepts. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to be interpreted as including the preferred embodiments and all changes and modifications that fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0060] Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications to the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present disclosure fall within the scope of the claims of the present disclosure and their equivalents, the present disclosure is intended to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A vehicle intelligent power distribution method, applied to a central computing unit of a central computing architecture, wherein the central computing architecture comprises the central computing unit, a regional controller, a first type of electrical equipment and a battery, wherein the central computing unit is in communication with the regional controller, the battery supplies power to the first type of electrical equipment via the regional controller, and the regional controller is used to connect the battery to supply power to the first type of electrical equipment after receiving a power-on instruction issued by the central computing unit; the method comprises: Determine the vehicle's power usage scenario; as well as The power-on instruction is issued to the regional controller based on the power usage scenario, so that the regional controller only turns on the battery to supply power to the first type of electrical equipment participating in the power usage scenario.

2. The vehicle intelligent power distribution method according to claim 1, wherein: The central computing architecture further includes a second type of electrical equipment, the storage battery supplies power to the second type of electrical equipment via the regional controller, and the regional controller is further configured to automatically connect the storage battery to supply power to the second type of electrical equipment after being awakened, and disconnect the storage battery from supplying power to the second type of electrical equipment after receiving a power-off instruction issued by the central computing unit; After determining the power usage scenario of the vehicle, the method further includes: The power-off instruction is issued to the regional controller based on the power usage scenario, so that the regional controller disconnects the battery from supplying power to the second-category power-consuming equipment that does not participate in the power usage scenario.

3. The vehicle intelligent power distribution method according to claim 2, wherein: The first type of electrical equipment is powered on and off by the central computing unit; The regional controller automatically turns on the power supply of the storage battery to the second type of electrical equipment after being awakened, and automatically turns off the power supply of the storage battery to the second type of electrical equipment after being dormant; as well as While the zone controller is awake, the power on and off of the second-category electrical equipment is controlled by the central computing unit.

4. The vehicle intelligent power distribution method according to claim 2, wherein: The power usage scenario includes a power replenishment scenario of the battery.

5. The vehicle intelligent power distribution method according to claim 2, wherein: The power usage scenario includes a vehicle usage scenario when the battery SOC is lower than a preset threshold; The first category of electrical equipment and the second category of electrical equipment involved in the vehicle usage scenario include driving and safety equipment.

6. A vehicle intelligent power distribution device, applied to a central computing unit of a central computing architecture, wherein the central computing architecture comprises the central computing unit, a regional controller, a first type of electrical equipment and a battery, wherein the central computing unit is in communication with the regional controller, the battery supplies power to the first type of electrical equipment via the regional controller, and the regional controller is used to connect the battery to supply power to the first type of electrical equipment after receiving a power-on instruction issued by the central computing unit; the device comprises: A determination module, used to determine the power usage scenario of the vehicle; as well as The instruction module is used to send the power-on instruction to the regional controller based on the power usage scenario, so that the regional controller only turns on the battery to supply power to the first type of power-consuming equipment participating in the power usage scenario.

7. The vehicle intelligent power distribution device according to claim 6, wherein the central computing architecture further comprises a second type of electrical equipment, the storage battery supplies power to the second type of electrical equipment via the regional controller, and the regional controller is further configured to automatically connect the storage battery to supply power to the second type of electrical equipment after being awakened, and disconnect the storage battery from supplying power to the second type of electrical equipment after receiving a power-off instruction issued by the central computing unit; The instruction module is also used for: The power-off instruction is issued to the regional controller based on the power usage scenario, so that the regional controller disconnects the battery from supplying power to the second-category power-consuming equipment that does not participate in the power usage scenario.

8. The vehicle intelligent power distribution device according to claim 7, wherein: The power usage scenario includes a power replenishment scenario of the battery.

9. The vehicle intelligent power distribution device according to claim 7, wherein: The power usage scenario includes a vehicle usage scenario when the battery SOC is lower than a preset threshold; The first category of electrical equipment and the second category of electrical equipment involved in the vehicle usage scenario include driving and safety equipment.

10. An electronic device comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor implements the vehicle intelligent power distribution method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 when executing the computer program.

11. The electronic device of claim 10, comprising a vehicle.

12. A computer-readable storage medium, comprising a computer program stored thereon, wherein the computer program, when executed by a processor, implements the vehicle intelligent power distribution method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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