Vehicle control method and vehicle

Abstract

The present invention relates to the technical field of vehicles. Specifically provided are a vehicle control method and a vehicle, which aim to solve the problem of a poor user experience caused by a slow adjustment of the height of a vehicle body after an easy-to-get-on / off function of an existing vehicle is activated. To this end, the control method of the present invention comprises: when an instruction for activating an easy-to-get-on / off function is received, lowering or lifting a vehicle body by means of a fully-active suspension; and deflating or inflating an air spring suspension, such that the air spring suspension replaces the fully-active suspension in supporting the vehicle body. After the easy-to-get-on / off function of the vehicle of the present invention is activated, compared with the adjustment of the height of a vehicle body by means of an air spring suspension in the prior art, adjusting the height of the vehicle body by means of the fully-active suspension is fast, and can improve the user experience. After the height of the vehicle body is reduced by means of the fully-active suspension, the fully-active suspension is replaced with the air spring suspension, and after the air spring suspension takes over, a vertical force outputted by the fully-active suspension is zero, and thus energy consumption can be reduced.

Description

Vehicle control method and vehicle

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese patent application CN202311769533.1, filed on December 20, 2023, entitled “Vehicle Control Method and Vehicle”. The entire contents of the above Chinese patent application are incorporated into this application by reference. Technical Field

[0002] The present invention relates to the technical field of vehicles, and in particular provides a vehicle control method and a vehicle. Background Art

[0003] The design of floor height parameters of mainstream models is limited by the vehicle's passability, chassis hardware layout and other requirements. Models such as SUVs are designed to be higher, while models such as supercars are designed to be lower. This fails to take into account the vehicle height requirements of different groups of people in getting on and off the vehicle.

[0004] Taking family SUV models as an example, the body height of family SUVs is generally high. It is easy for the elderly, children or people with mobility difficulties to bump into or fall when getting on and off the vehicle. The easy on and off function came into being. After activating the easy on and off function, the body height is automatically lowered, making it easier and safer for passengers to get in and out of the vehicle.

[0005] Currently, the common easy getting on and off function mostly uses air spring suspension to adjust the vehicle body height. The air spring suspension adjusts slowly (generally more than 10 seconds), and the user waits for a long time, which affects the user experience.

[0006] Therefore, this field needs a new technical solution to solve the above problems.

[0007] Summary of the Invention

[0008] The present invention aims to solve the above technical problem, that is, to solve the problem that after the easy boarding and exiting function of existing vehicles is activated, the vehicle body height is slowly adjusted, resulting in a poor user experience.

[0009] In a first aspect, the present invention provides a method for controlling a vehicle, the vehicle comprising a vehicle body and an air spring suspension and a fully active suspension mounted on the vehicle body, the method comprising:

[0010] Upon receiving a command to activate the easy entry and exit function, the vehicle body is lowered or raised by the fully active suspension;

[0011] The air spring suspension is deflated or inflated so that the air spring suspension takes over the full active suspension to support the vehicle body.

[0012] In a preferred technical solution of the above vehicle control method, before executing the step of “deflation or inflation of the air spring suspension”, the control method further includes:

[0013] Determine whether the preset conditions are met;

[0014] If the preset condition is met, the step of “deflation or inflation of the air spring suspension” is performed.

[0015] In the preferred technical solution of the above vehicle control method, the step of "determining whether the preset conditions are met" specifically includes:

[0016] Determine whether the time for executing the easy boarding and disembarking function reaches the preset time;

[0017] The step of “if the preset condition is met, executing the step of “deflation or inflation of the air spring suspension”” specifically includes:

[0018] If the time for executing the easy entry and exit function reaches the preset time, the step of “deflation or inflating the air spring suspension” is executed.

[0019] In the preferred technical solution of the above vehicle control method, the step of "determining whether the preset conditions are met" specifically includes:

[0020] determining whether the pressure of the air spring suspension is greater than a preset pressure;

[0021] The step of “if the preset condition is met, executing the step of “deflation or inflation of the air spring suspension”” specifically includes:

[0022] If the pressure of the air spring suspension is greater than the preset pressure, the step of “deflation or inflating the air spring suspension” is performed.

[0023] In the preferred technical solution of the above vehicle control method, the step of "determining whether the preset conditions are met" specifically includes:

[0024] determining whether the time for executing the easy entry and exit function reaches a preset time or whether the pressure of the air spring suspension is greater than a preset pressure;

[0025] The step of “if the preset condition is met, executing the step of “deflation or inflation of the air spring suspension”” specifically includes:

[0026] If the time for executing the easy entry and exit function reaches the preset time or the pressure of the air spring suspension is greater than the preset pressure, the step of “deflation or inflating the air spring suspension” is executed.

[0027] In a preferred technical solution of the above vehicle control method, the control method further includes:

[0028] upon receiving an instruction to exit the easy entry and exit function, raising or lowering the vehicle body via the fully active suspension;

[0029] The air spring suspension is inflated or deflated so that the air spring suspension takes over the full active suspension to support the vehicle body.

[0030] In a preferred technical solution of the above vehicle control method, the control method further includes:

[0031] While executing the step of “deflating or inflating the air spring suspension”, the vertical force output by the fully active suspension is gradually reduced to zero.

[0032] In a preferred technical solution of the above vehicle control method, the control method further includes:

[0033] After the air spring suspension is deflated or inflated, the vertical force output by the fully active suspension is gradually reduced to zero.

[0034] In a preferred technical solution of the above vehicle control method, the control method further includes:

[0035] When the distance between the vehicle key and the vehicle body is less than a preset distance and a command to unlock the vehicle door is received, an instruction to start the easy entry and exit function is triggered.

[0036] In a second aspect, the present invention further provides a vehicle, comprising a controller configured to execute the above control method.

[0037] When adopting the above technical solution, after the easy getting on and off function is activated, compared with the prior art of adjusting the vehicle body height through air spring suspension, the present invention adjusts the vehicle body height through full-active suspension, which has a fast adjustment speed and can improve the user experience. Moreover, after the vehicle body height is lowered or raised through the full-active suspension, the air spring suspension is used to replace the full-active suspension. After the air spring suspension takes over, the vertical force output by the full-active suspension is zero, which can reduce energy consumption.

[0038] Furthermore, the present invention is also provided with preset conditions. After the height of the vehicle body is lowered or raised by the fully active suspension, the air spring suspension is deflated or inflated only when the preset conditions are met, so that the air spring suspension replaces the fully active suspension. Through such a setting, when the preset conditions are not met, there is no need to make the air spring suspension replace the fully active suspension, and there is no need to deflate or inflate the air spring suspension. When exiting the easy getting on and off function, there is no need to inflate or deflate the air spring suspension, which makes the work more efficient and energy-saving.

[0039] Furthermore, when exiting the easy entry and exit function, the present invention also preferably first raises or lowers the height of the vehicle body through the fully active suspension. This setting can avoid the situation where the chassis is bumped.

[0040] Furthermore, when the distance between the car key and the car body is less than a preset distance and the command to unlock the car door is received, the present invention automatically triggers the command to start the easy in and out function, and the height of the car body is lowered or raised by the fully active suspension. Through such a setting, when the user approaches the vehicle and unlocks the door with the car key, the height of the car body will automatically lower or raise, without having to wait until the user opens the car door to lower or raise the height of the car body, thereby further improving the user experience.

[0041] In addition, the vehicle further provided by the present invention on the basis of the above-mentioned technical solution includes the control method of the above-mentioned vehicle, and thus has the technical effects possessed by the control method of the above-mentioned vehicle. Compared with the vehicle before the improvement, the vehicle of the present invention can quickly lower or raise the vehicle body when the easy boarding and alighting function is activated, and the user experience is better. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0042] The preferred embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0043] FIG1 is a flow chart of a vehicle control method of the present invention;

[0044] FIG. 2 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a vehicle control method according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] The preferred embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that these embodiments are only used to explain the technical principles of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0046] The preferred embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that, in the description of the present invention, although the various steps of the control method of the present invention are described in this application in a specific order, these orders are not restrictive, and those skilled in the art may perform the steps in a different order without departing from the basic principles of the present invention.

[0047] Furthermore, it should be noted that, in the description of the present invention, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, the terms "disposed," "connected," and "installed" should be understood in a broad sense, and may refer to, for example, a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0048] Specifically, the present invention provides a vehicle, which includes a vehicle body and an air spring suspension and a fully active suspension installed on the vehicle body. The air spring suspension and the fully active suspension are both communicatively connected to a controller of the vehicle.

[0049] Exemplarily, there are four air spring suspensions, which are respectively installed at the four wheels of the vehicle. The air spring suspensions installed at the two front wheels are used to adjust the height of the front of the vehicle body, and the air spring suspensions installed at the two rear wheels are used to adjust the height of the rear of the vehicle body. By inflating the air spring suspension, the height of the vehicle body can be increased, and by deflating the air spring suspension, the height of the vehicle body can be lowered.

[0050] There are also four fully active suspensions, which are respectively installed at the four wheels of the vehicle. The fully active suspensions installed at the two front wheels are used to adjust the height of the front part of the vehicle body, and the fully active suspensions installed at the two rear wheels are used to adjust the height of the rear part of the vehicle body. By making the fully active suspension output a positive vertical force, the height of the vehicle body can be increased, and by making the fully active suspension output a negative vertical force, the height of the vehicle body can be lowered. Among them, the fully active suspension preferably adopts a hydraulic fully active suspension.

[0051] Based on the above vehicle, the present invention provides a vehicle control method, as shown in FIG1 , the control method of the present invention includes:

[0052] S100: When the Easy Entry / Exit function is activated, the vehicle body is lowered using the fully active suspension.

[0053] Specifically, the height of the vehicle body is lowered by causing the fully active suspension to output a negative vertical force. For example, the height of the vehicle body can be lowered by 50 mm through the fully active suspension to facilitate passengers getting on and off the vehicle.

[0054] It should be noted that the present invention does not impose any specific limitation on the specific value of the vehicle body lowering, and those skilled in the art can flexibly set it according to the actual height of the vehicle body in actual application.

[0055] S300: Deflate the air spring suspension so that it can take over the full active suspension to support the vehicle body.

[0056] After the easy getting on and off function is activated, compared with the prior art that uses air spring suspension to adjust the vehicle body height, the present invention uses a fully active suspension to adjust the vehicle body height, which has a fast adjustment speed and can improve the user experience. In addition, after the height of the vehicle body is lowered by the fully active suspension, the air spring suspension is used to replace the fully active suspension. After the air spring suspension takes over, the vertical force output by the fully active suspension is reduced to zero, which can reduce energy consumption.

[0057] It should be noted that when the easy on / off function is activated, the height of the vehicle body is first lowered by the fully active suspension, and then the air spring suspension takes over. While the air spring suspension is being deflated, the vertical force output by the fully active suspension can be gradually reduced to zero. Alternatively, after the air spring suspension is deflated, the vertical force output by the fully active suspension can be gradually reduced to zero. This flexible adjustment and change does not deviate from the principles and scope of the present invention and should be limited within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0058] In addition, it should be noted that the present invention does not limit the specific method of triggering the instruction to start the easy getting on and off the vehicle function. For example, those skilled in the art can set it so that the instruction to start the easy getting on and off the vehicle function is triggered when the car door is opened, or a start button can be set to trigger the instruction to start the easy getting on and off the vehicle function by operating the start button, etc. Such flexible adjustments and changes do not deviate from the principles and scope of the present invention and should be limited within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0059] In addition, it should be noted that for models with low chassis, such as sports cars, when the easy entry and exit function is activated, the vehicle body needs to be raised to facilitate users to get on and off the vehicle. Therefore, for such models with low chassis, the above step S100 should be adjusted to: when receiving the instruction to activate the easy entry and exit function, the vehicle body is raised through the fully active suspension, and S300 should be adjusted to: inflate the air spring suspension so that the air spring suspension takes over the fully active suspension to support the vehicle body.

[0060] The following will continue to introduce the technical solution of the present invention by taking a vehicle with a higher chassis (such as a family SUV, etc.) as an example.

[0061] Preferably, the control method of the present invention further includes:

[0062] When the distance between the vehicle key and the vehicle body is less than the preset distance and the command to unlock the door is received, the command to start the easy entry and exit function is triggered.

[0063] That is to say, the present invention is provided with setting condition one: the distance between the car key and the car body is less than the preset distance, and setting condition two: receiving the instruction to unlock the car door. When both condition one and condition two are set, the vehicle automatically triggers the instruction to start the easy entry and exit function, and the fully active suspension outputs a negative vertical force to lower the height of the car body. In this way, when the user approaches the vehicle and unlocks the door with the car key, the height of the car body will automatically lower, and there is no need to wait until the user opens the car door to lower the height of the car body, thereby further improving the user experience.

[0064] It should be noted that in addition to the two setting conditions mentioned above, the present invention can also be provided with other setting conditions, for example, setting condition three: the car door is open, setting condition four, the user starts the easy on and off function on the car screen or mobile phone APP, etc.

[0065] Preferably, as shown in FIG2 , the control method of the present invention further includes:

[0066] S400: upon receiving an instruction to exit the easy entry and exit function, raising the vehicle body via the fully active suspension;

[0067] When receiving the command to exit the easy entry and exit function, the fully active suspension outputs a positive vertical force to increase the height of the vehicle body and ensure normal driving of the vehicle.

[0068] S500: Inflate the air spring suspension so that the air spring suspension takes over the full active suspension to support the vehicle body.

[0069] That is to say, when exiting the easy getting on and off function, it is also preferred to first raise the height of the vehicle body through the fully active suspension, so that the vehicle body can be raised quickly. In this way, it can avoid hitting the chassis. Then the air spring suspension is inflated, and the air spring suspension is used to replace the fully active suspension. After the air spring suspension takes over supporting the vehicle body, the vertical force output by the fully active suspension is reduced to zero.

[0070] It should be noted that, similar to when the easy getting on and off function is activated, while the air spring suspension is being inflated, the vertical force output by the fully active suspension can be gradually reduced to zero, or, after the air spring suspension is completely deflated, the vertical force output by the fully active suspension can be gradually reduced to zero. Such flexible adjustment and change does not deviate from the principle and scope of the present invention and should be limited within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0071] In addition, it should be noted that after receiving the instruction to exit the easy entry and exit function, the height of the vehicle body is generally adjusted to the initial height through the fully active suspension. The initial height is the height of the vehicle body before the easy entry and exit function is started. That is to say, the height of the vehicle body after exiting the easy entry and exit function is equal to the height of the vehicle body after starting the easy entry and exit function.

[0072] In addition, it should be noted that the present invention does not limit the specific method of triggering the instruction to exit the easy on and off function. For example, those skilled in the art can set it so that the instruction to exit the easy on and off function is triggered when the car door is closed, or a start button can be set to trigger the instruction to exit the easy on and off function by operating the start button, etc. Such flexible adjustments and changes do not deviate from the principles and scope of the present invention and should be limited within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0073] In addition, it should be noted that, as can be seen from the above statement, for models with a lower chassis, the above step S100 is specifically: when receiving the instruction to start the easy entry and exit function, the vehicle body is raised through the fully active suspension. Therefore, for models with a lower chassis, the above step S400 should be adaptively adjusted to: when receiving the instruction to exit the easy entry and exit function, the vehicle body is lowered through the fully active suspension; S500 should be adaptively adjusted: the air spring suspension is deflated so that the air spring suspension takes over the fully active suspension to support the vehicle body.

[0074] Preferably, as shown in FIG2 , before executing step S300 of “deflating the air spring suspension”, the control method of the present invention further includes:

[0075] S200: Determine whether a preset condition is met;

[0076] If the preset conditions are met, step S300 is executed, “deflation of the air spring suspension”.

[0077] That is to say, the present invention sets a preset condition in the vehicle controller. After the height of the vehicle body is lowered by the fully active suspension, the air spring suspension is not deflated first. Instead, it is determined whether the preset condition is met. When the preset condition is met, the air spring suspension is inflated to allow the air spring suspension to replace the fully active suspension. If the preset condition is not met, the air spring suspension is not deflated first.

[0078] It should be noted that the present invention does not limit the specific content of the preset conditions. For example, those skilled in the art can set the preset conditions to the time for executing the easy getting on and off function reaching a preset time, or can also set the preset conditions to the pressure of the air spring suspension being greater than a preset pressure, and so on. Such adjustments and changes to the specific content of the preset conditions do not deviate from the principles and scope of the present invention and should be limited within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0079] In the first preferred case,

[0080] The steps of "determining whether the preset conditions are met" specifically include:

[0081] Determine whether the time for executing the easy boarding and disembarking function reaches the preset time;

[0082] The step of “if the preset condition is met, executing the step of “deflation of the air spring suspension”” specifically includes:

[0083] If the time for executing the easy entry and exit function reaches the preset time, the step of “deflating the air spring suspension” is performed.

[0084] That is to say, in this embodiment, the preset condition is that the time for executing the easy getting on and off the vehicle function reaches a preset time. For example, a timing module is provided in the vehicle controller. When the easy getting on and off the vehicle function is started, the timing module starts timing. Before exiting the easy getting on and off the vehicle function, when the time recorded by the timing module reaches the preset time, the air spring suspension starts to be deflated so that the air spring suspension can take over the fully active suspension. If the time recorded by the timing module has not reached the preset time, an instruction to exit the easy getting on and off the vehicle function is received, and there is no need to deflate the air spring suspension, which is more energy-efficient.

[0085] It should be noted that the present invention does not limit the specific value of the preset time. For example, those skilled in the art can set the preset time to 3 seconds, 5 seconds or 10 seconds, etc. In actual applications, those skilled in the art can flexibly set the specific value of the preset time for different models of fully active suspensions based on experiments or experience, as long as the critical point determined by the preset time can avoid the situation that causes overheating of the fully active suspension.

[0086] In the second preferred case,

[0087] The steps of "determining whether the preset conditions are met" specifically include:

[0088] determining whether the pressure of the air spring suspension is greater than a preset pressure;

[0089] The step of “if the preset condition is met, executing the step of “deflation of the air spring suspension”” specifically includes:

[0090] If the pressure of the air spring suspension is greater than the preset pressure, the step of “deflating the air spring suspension” is performed.

[0091] That is to say, in this embodiment, the preset condition is that the pressure of the air spring suspension is greater than the preset pressure. After the easy on and off function is started, the height of the vehicle body is first lowered through the fully active suspension, and then the pressure of the airbag of the air spring suspension is obtained, and the pressure is compared with the preset pressure. If the pressure of the airbag of the air spring suspension is greater than the preset pressure, the air spring suspension is started to be deflated so that the air spring suspension takes over the fully active suspension. Conversely, if the pressure of the airbag of the air spring suspension is greater than the preset pressure, there is no need to deflate the air spring suspension.

[0092] In the third preferred case,

[0093] The steps of "determining whether the preset conditions are met" specifically include:

[0094] determining whether the time for executing the easy entry and exit function reaches a preset time or whether the pressure of the air spring suspension is greater than a preset pressure;

[0095] The step of “if the preset condition is met, executing the step of “deflation of the air spring suspension”” specifically includes:

[0096] If the time for executing the easy entry and exit function reaches a preset time or the pressure of the air spring suspension is greater than a preset pressure, the step of “deflating the air spring suspension” is executed.

[0097] That is to say, in this embodiment, there are two preset conditions, namely, the time for executing the easy getting on and off the vehicle function reaches the preset time and the pressure of the air spring suspension is greater than the preset pressure. After the easy getting on and off the vehicle function is started, as long as any one of the above two preset conditions is met, the air spring suspension will start to be deflated so that the air spring suspension can take over the fully active suspension. If neither of the two preset conditions is met, the air spring suspension will not be deflated first.

[0098] In addition, it should be noted that the above control methods are preferably executed by the controller of the vehicle of the present invention.

[0099] In addition, it should be noted that the vehicle control method provided in this embodiment can be stored as a program in a computer-readable storage medium. The storage medium includes a number of instructions for causing a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) or a processor to execute some of the steps of the methods of various embodiments of the present invention. The aforementioned storage medium includes: a USB flash drive, a mobile hard drive, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk, etc., various media that can store program code.

[0100] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that although some embodiments described herein include certain features included in other embodiments but not other features, combinations of features from different embodiments are intended to be within the scope of this application and to form different embodiments. For example, in the claims of this application, any of the claimed embodiments may be used in any combination.

[0101] Thus far, the technical solutions of the present invention have been described in conjunction with the preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. However, it will be readily understood by those skilled in the art that the scope of protection of the present invention is obviously not limited to these specific embodiments. Without departing from the principles of the present invention, those skilled in the art may make equivalent changes or substitutions to the relevant technical features, and the technical solutions after such changes or substitutions will fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A vehicle control method, characterized in that: The vehicle includes a vehicle body and an air spring suspension and a fully active suspension mounted on the vehicle body, and the control method includes: When receiving an instruction to start the easy entry and exit function, the vehicle body is lowered or raised by the fully active suspension; The air spring suspension is deflated or inflated so that the air spring suspension takes over the full active suspension to support the vehicle body.

2. The vehicle control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Before executing the step of "deflating or inflating the air spring suspension", the control method further includes: Determine whether the preset conditions are met; If the preset condition is met, the step of "deflation or inflating the air spring suspension" is performed.

3. The vehicle control method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The steps of "determining whether the preset conditions are met" specifically include: Determine whether the time for executing the easy boarding and exiting function reaches the preset time; "If the preset condition is met, the step of executing the step of "deflation or inflation of the air spring suspension"" specifically includes: If the time for executing the easy entry and exit function reaches the preset time, the step of "deflating or inflating the air spring suspension" is executed.

4. The vehicle control method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The steps of "determining whether the preset conditions are met" specifically include: Determining whether the pressure of the air spring suspension is greater than a preset pressure; "If the preset condition is met, the step of executing the step of "deflation or inflation of the air spring suspension"" specifically includes: If the pressure of the air spring suspension is greater than the preset pressure, the step of "deflating or inflating the air spring suspension" is performed.

5. The vehicle control method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The steps of "determining whether the preset conditions are met" specifically include: Determining whether the time for executing the easy on / off function reaches a preset time or whether the pressure of the air spring suspension is greater than a preset pressure; "If the preset condition is met, the step of executing the step of "deflation or inflation of the air spring suspension"" specifically includes: If the time for executing the easy on / off function reaches the preset time or the pressure of the air spring suspension is greater than the preset pressure, the step of "deflation or inflating the air spring suspension" is executed.

6. The vehicle control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The control method further comprises: When receiving an instruction to exit the easy entry and exit function, raising or lowering the vehicle body through the fully active suspension; The air spring suspension is inflated or deflated so that the air spring suspension takes over the full active suspension to support the vehicle body.

7. The vehicle control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The control method further comprises: While executing the step of "deflating or inflating the air spring suspension", the vertical force output by the fully active suspension is gradually reduced to zero.

8. The vehicle control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The control method further comprises: After the air spring suspension is deflated or inflated, the vertical force output by the full active suspension is gradually reduced to zero.

9. The vehicle control method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The control method further comprises: When the distance between the vehicle key and the vehicle body is less than a preset distance and a command to unlock the vehicle door is received, a command to start the easy entry and exit function is triggered.

10. A vehicle, characterized in that: The device comprises a controller configured to execute the control method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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