Vehicle State Control for Drive-Through Automation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle systems lack the capability to provide effective driving assistance in drive-through areas, where customers receive products and services while in their vehicles, and automatic driving and assistant systems are not adequately implemented.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle state control apparatus that includes a vehicle entering/leaving detection unit and a control unit, which detects and controls the vehicle's state within a drive-through area, allowing for assisted driving, stopping at designated windows, and managing window operations based on service completion and user input.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If existing vehicle systems are used in drive-through areas, then general driving functions are maintained, but driving assistance capability is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit dynamically switches between manual driving mode and automatic driving mode based on detection of drive-through area entry. When the vehicle enters a drive-through area, the system automatically transitions to automatic driving mode, enabling adaptive behavior that enhances driving assistance capability specifically in drive-through contexts while maintaining general driving functionality elsewhere
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operational parameters of the vehicle control system based on location detection. Upon detecting entry into a drive-through area, the control unit modifies control parameters to enable automatic driving functions, thereby improving driving assistance capability through parameter adaptation to the specific environment
2Productivity
If manual driving mode is used in drive-through areas, then vehicle control simplicity is maintained, but service efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of drive-through area entry and automatically switches to automatic driving mode before the vehicle reaches service windows. This preliminary action prepares the vehicle for efficient drive-through operation, improving service efficiency by eliminating the need for manual intervention during the actual service process
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit autonomously manages vehicle stopping and resuming operations in drive-through areas without requiring manual driver input. The system detects service completion and automatically controls vehicle movement, enabling the vehicle to service itself through the drive-through process and thereby improving service efficiency
3Extent of automation
If automatic driving control is implemented in drive-through areas, then driving assistance is improved, but detection precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle's existing detection systems are utilized for multiple purposes: general obstacle detection for normal driving and specific drive-through area detection for automatic mode activation. By making the detection system multi-functional, the patent achieves automatic driving control capability while leveraging existing detection infrastructure, thereby managing detection precision requirements effectively
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a vehicle state control apparatus, a vehicle state control method, and a vehicle that make it possible to perform driving assistant in a drive-through area. In the drive-through area, a display unit, a window control unit, and the like in addition to a steering mechanism, a braking device, an engine, a driving motor, and a headlamp (not shown) are appropriately controlled on the basis of a result of image recognition output from an MCU to a bus, information supplied from another unit such as a radar and a lidar, and a sensing result from an in-vehicle sensor. That is, in the drive-through area, the state of the vehicle, which includes operations (such as presentation and opening/closing of the window) in addition to driving (travelling), is controlled. The present disclosure is applicable to, for example, a drive-through area drive control system.