Traveling Vehicle Controller Pseudo-Shift Branch Point Logic
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Solution Overview
Problem
In traveling vehicle controllers, vehicles approaching branch points may fail to change courses correctly, leading to detours and delayed arrival at destination points.
Innovation Solution
A traveling vehicle controller that performs pseudo-shift processing to consider vehicles within a branch-switching impossible distance as being downstream of the branch point, excluding post-course-switch travel routes from candidates to ensure accurate command assignment to the first-arrive vehicle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If multiple ECUs are connected in a daisy-chain fashion for vehicle-to-vehicle communication, then communication coverage is extended, but communication delay increases and real-time responsiveness deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the communication network into two segments: a daisy-chain connection for broadcasting V2X messages to multiple ECUs, and a direct connection between the master ECU and the traveling vehicle controller. This segmentation allows the system to maintain extended communication coverage through the daisy-chain while achieving low-latency control signals through the direct connection, thereby resolving the contradiction between coverage area and communication delay.
2Reliability
If a traveling vehicle controller is added to enable autonomous emergency braking, then safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The traveling vehicle controller is designed with multi-functionality, serving both as an autonomous emergency braking controller and as a traveling support controller. By integrating multiple safety functions into a single controller, the system achieves improved safety through autonomous emergency braking while minimizing the increase in device complexity through functional consolidation.
3Measurement precision
If the master ECU directly controls each ECU individually, then control precision is improved, but the number of control lines increases and system complexity worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The master ECU uses the traveling vehicle controller as an intermediary to transmit control signals to multiple ECUs. Instead of establishing direct individual connections from the master ECU to each ECU, the traveling vehicle controller receives control signals from the master ECU and distributes them to the relevant ECUs. This intermediary approach maintains control precision while significantly reducing the number of control lines required.
Data Source
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AI summary
A traveling vehicle controller includes a command assignment unit configured to detect a first-arrive traveling vehicle being capable of reaching a destination point first among traveling vehicles, based on travel route candidates on which the traveling vehicles travel along a travel path from respective positions to reach the destination point, and assign the command to the first-arrive traveling vehicle. In detection of the first-arrive traveling vehicle, when a traveling vehicle traveling toward a branch point on the travel path is located within a range of a branch-switching impossible distance from the branch point and is scheduled to proceed toward a main way at the branch point, the command assignment unit performs pseudo-shift processing by which this traveling vehicle is considered to be located in a position downstream of the branch point and on a side of the main way.