CN112677970B

CN112677970B - Cruise control device and method and steering wheel

Info

Publication number: CN112677970B
Application number: CN202010255861.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 孙策; 陈淑江; 凌文超; 张帅; 孙佳新; 赵晴
Original assignee: Great Wall Motor Co Ltd
Current assignee: Great Wall Motor Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-04-02
Filing date: 2020-04-02
Publication date: 2022-05-27
Anticipated expiration: 2040-04-02
Also published as: WO2021197440A1; CN112677970A

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of vehicle cruise control, and provides a cruise control device, a cruise control method and a steering wheel. The cruise control apparatus of the present invention includes: a single cruise key disposed in a driver operation area of a vehicle, and configured to transmit different cruise instructions in response to different press times; and the controller is in communication connection with the cruise key and is used for identifying the real-time pressing time of the cruise key and controlling the vehicle to execute a cruise instruction corresponding to the real-time pressing time. The cruise control device can realize the functions of two or more keys in the traditional cruise control scheme through different pressing time of a single key, thereby obviously saving the cost.

Description

Cruise control device and method and steering wheel

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of vehicle cruise control, in particular to a cruise control device, a cruise control method and a steering wheel.

Background

In recent years, the new energy automobile industry has a hot trend of high-speed cruise control function. However, in the conventional cruise control scheme, the cruise switch function, the cruise vehicle speed setting function, the cruise acceleration function, the cruise deceleration function, the cruise reset function, the cruise cancellation function, and the like are respectively realized by four keys on the multifunctional steering wheel, namely, a cruise (main cruise switch function key), a SET/- (cruise vehicle speed setting function key/cruise deceleration function key), a RES/+ (cruise reset function key/cruise acceleration function key), and a CANCEL (cruise cancellation function key). However, the arrangement of the multiple keys makes it difficult for the driver to find the cruise function key which is expected to be used during driving, which results in poor user experience. In addition, the risk of misoperation of a driver is deepened due to the large number of keys, and potential safety hazards are brought.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above, the present invention is directed to a cruise control device to solve the problem of many buttons in the conventional cruise control scheme.

In order to achieve the purpose, the technical scheme of the invention is realized as follows:

a cruise control apparatus comprising: a single cruise key disposed in a driver operation area of a vehicle, and configured to transmit different cruise instructions in response to different press times; and the controller is in communication connection with the cruise key and is used for identifying the real-time pressing time of the cruise key and controlling the vehicle to execute a cruise instruction corresponding to the real-time pressing time.

Further, the cruise key being configured to send different cruise commands in response to different actuation times comprises: when the pressing time of the cruise key is larger than or equal to a first time threshold value, the cruise key is configured to send a first instruction; and when the pressing time of the cruise key is smaller than the first time threshold value, the cruise key is configured to send a second instruction. Wherein the first and second commands are different cruise commands.

Further, the cruise command includes any one or more of a cruise switch command, a cruise vehicle speed setting command, a cruise acceleration command, a cruise deceleration command, a cruise reset command, and a cruise cancellation command.

Further, the cruise key is configured to generate a specified level signal when being pressed and send the specified level signal to the controller; and the controller is used for identifying the real-time pressing time of the cruise key and comprises the following steps: and determining the real-time pressing time of the cruise key according to the duration time of the received specified level signal.

Further, the controller is a VCU (vehicle control unit).

Further, the controller for controlling the vehicle to execute the cruise command corresponding to the real-time push time includes: the method comprises the steps of obtaining vehicle state information, judging whether a vehicle meets preset conditions for executing a corresponding cruise instruction or not according to the vehicle state information, and if so, controlling the vehicle to execute the cruise instruction to enter a corresponding cruise state, wherein the cruise state comprises an activated state, a closed state and a standby state.

Further, the cruise control apparatus further includes: a single display in communicative connection with the controller and configured to display different cruise conditions through different light conditions.

Compared with the prior art, the cruise control device has the following advantages: the cruise control device can realize the functions of two or more keys in the traditional cruise control scheme through different pressing time of a single key, thereby obviously saving the cost.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a cruise control method to solve the problem of the conventional cruise control scheme that relies on multiple keys to achieve cruise control.

a cruise control method applied to the controller of the cruise control apparatus described above, the cruise control method comprising: identifying a real-time press time of the single cruise key; determining a cruise instruction corresponding to the identified real-time pressing time; and controlling the vehicle to execute the determined cruise command.

Further, the controlling the vehicle to execute the determined cruise command includes: the method comprises the steps of obtaining vehicle state information, judging whether a vehicle meets preset conditions for executing a corresponding cruise instruction or not according to the vehicle state information, and if so, controlling the vehicle to execute the cruise instruction to enter a corresponding cruise state, wherein the cruise state comprises an activated state, a closed state and a standby state.

The cruise control method has the same advantages as the cruise control device relative to the prior art, and the details are not repeated.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a steering wheel to solve the problem of many cruise buttons on the conventional steering wheel.

a steering wheel, comprising: a steering wheel body; and the single cruise key of the cruise control device is arranged on the steering wheel body.

The steering wheel has the same advantages as the cruise control device described above over the prior art, and is not described in detail here.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the detailed description which follows.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the invention and not to limit the invention.

In the drawings:

fig. 1 is a functional configuration diagram of a cruise control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exemplary cruise state skip logic diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a cruise control method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Description of reference numerals:

100. a cruise key; 200. a controller; 300. a display member.

Detailed Description

In addition, the embodiments of the present invention and the features of the embodiments may be combined with each other without conflict.

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings in conjunction with embodiments.

Fig. 1 is a functional configuration diagram of a cruise control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, the cruise control apparatus including: a single cruise key 100 disposed in a driver operation area of the vehicle, and the cruise key 100 is configured to transmit different cruise instructions in response to different pressing times; and a controller 200, which is in communication connection with the cruise key 100, and is used for identifying the real-time pressing time of the cruise key 100 and controlling the vehicle to execute a cruise instruction corresponding to the real-time pressing time.

Wherein the cruise key 100 being configured to send different cruise instructions in response to different press times may comprise: when the pressing time of the cruise key 100 is greater than or equal to a first time threshold value, the cruise key 100 is configured to send a first instruction; and when the pressing time of the cruise key is smaller than the first time threshold value, the cruise key is configured to send a second instruction. Wherein the first and second commands are different cruise commands. Additionally, the cruise commands may include any one or more of a cruise switch command, a cruise vehicle speed set command, a cruise acceleration command, a cruise deceleration command, a cruise reset command, and a cruise cancellation command.

For example, if the first command is a main cruise switch command generated by a conventional cruise key and the second command is a cruise vehicle speed setting command generated by a conventional SET key, and the first time threshold value is 2s, the function of the single cruise key 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention may be defined as follows:

1) defining the key pressing time to be longer than or equal to 2s as long pressing, and sending a main cruise switch instruction at the time, so that the cruise key 100 is equivalent to a conventional CEUISE key integrated with a traditional cruise control scheme;

2) the key press time < 2s is defined as a short press, at which time a cruise vehicle speed setting command is transmitted, so that the cruise key 100 corresponds to a conventional SET key integrated with a conventional cruise control scheme.

For example, after a long press, the vehicle activates the cruise function to await further operation by the driver, while the driver makes a short press to enter a mode for setting the cruise vehicle speed. The cruise control scheme is the same as the conventional cruise control scheme in logic that the conventional cruise control scheme respectively passes through a conventional CEUISE key and a conventional SET key, so that the embodiment of the invention only requires to change the number of the cruise keys and the instruction sending mode and configure the function of identifying the key pressing time for the controller, and does not need to change the logic of the controller for executing the corresponding cruise instruction, thereby basically and completely optimizing the cruise control scheme from a hardware level and being suitable for the condition that the selection of the corresponding software product cannot be changed.

It should be noted that the correspondence between the key press time in the above function definition and the corresponding integrated conventional key is exemplary, and in practice, the definition may be arbitrarily performed, for example, the above 1) and 2) are exchanged, and the definition corresponds to the conventional SET key for long press and the conventional ceiuise key for short press. For another example, the first and second commands may correspond to a cruise reset command, a cruise cancel command, and the like.

It should be noted that a second time threshold, a third time threshold, and the like, which are different from the first time threshold, may be further set to further enable the cruise key 100 to send different cruise commands, such as a third command, a fourth command, and the like, according to different key-press times, as shown in the following table:

key press time t (unit is s)	Corresponding cruise command
		0<t＜2	Cruise acceleration command
2≤t＜5	Cruise deceleration command
		5≤t＜10	Cruise vehicle speed set instruction
10≤t	Main cruise switch command

For the arrangement in the table, in order to facilitate driver mastery of the time of actuation, a displayable timer associated with the cruise key may be configured to display the time of actuation of the key to the driver in real time. Besides displaying the timer, a display with more functions can be adopted, and the display can display the pressing time and can also display the cruise instruction corresponding to the current pressing time.

Accordingly, it can be seen that the cruise control apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention implements the functions of two or more keys in the conventional cruise control scheme by different pressing times of a single key, thereby significantly saving costs and being also applicable to the case where the vehicle cruise system cannot change the product type.

In a preferred embodiment, the cruise key 100 is pre-configured to indicate different cruise commands at different pressing times, and the controller 200 needs to identify the pressing time to further determine the cruise command, and how to identify the pressing time of the cruise key 100 may be implemented as follows: first, the cruise key 100 is configured to generate a specified level signal when pressed, and transmit the specified level signal to the controller 200; next, the controller 200 determines a real-time pressing time of the cruise key according to the duration of the received designated level signal.

For example, the specific level signal may be a high level, that is, the cruise key 100 is configured such that after being pressed, the level signal of the key is changed from a low level to a high level, so that the control 200 may determine the real-time pressing time of the cruise key 100 according to the duration of the high level.

In a preferred embodiment, the controller may be a VCU. In other embodiments, a separate controller may be configured.

Taking VCU as an example, in a preferred embodiment, the controller 200 for controlling the vehicle to execute the cruise command corresponding to the real-time pressing time includes: the method comprises the steps of obtaining vehicle state information, judging whether a vehicle meets preset conditions for executing a corresponding cruise command or not according to the vehicle state information, and if yes, controlling the vehicle to execute the cruise command to enter a corresponding cruise state. Wherein, the acquired vehicle state information may be different according to the content of the preset condition.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the cruise status includes an active status, an off status, and a standby status, and the transition between these three statuses based on preset conditions will be described by way of example. Fig. 2 is a diagram of exemplary CRUISE state jump logic in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the active, OFF and Standby states are labeled active, OFF and Standby, respectively, and the example illustrates the functionality of a single CRUISE key integrating a conventional SET key and a conventional CRUISE key in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 2, the cruise state skip logic in this example mainly includes the following:

firstly, when the current vehicle state meets the following first preset condition, the vehicle should Activate (corresponding to the active state) the cruise function.

The first preset condition includes:

1) the cruise function is in a 'Standby' state; and is

2) There is no system three-level or above fault except the OBC (On Board of Charger) three-level fault; and is

3) The vehicle speed (the vehicle speed displayed by the instrument) is between 30 and 130km/h, wherein 30 To 130km/h is a TBD (To Be Determination, To Be defined) value; and is

4) The brake pedal is not stepped on; and is

5) The gear is in a D gear (a forward gear); and is

6) Cruise control signal states are not "0 x 0: a Not switch off cruise Control, wherein the cruise Control signal includes a CDP (Controlled Deceleration for Parking Brake) signal, a VDC (Vehicle Dynamic Control) signal, a TCS (Traction Control System) signal, and an HDC (Hill gradient Control) signal; and is

7) CDP function is not activated; and is

8) The "SET" key is pressed, where pressing the "SET" key refers to the function of a conventional SET key implemented by a single cruise key of an embodiment of the present invention; and is

9) EPB (Electric Parking Braking) signal, switch position signal is not "0 x 2: apply.

Note that the functions of cruise vehicle speed setting, cruise acceleration, cruise deceleration, and the like can be further performed after the cruise function is activated.

And secondly, when the cruise state is 'Standby' or 'active', the cruise state is required to enter an 'OFF' state when the following second preset condition is met.

The second preset condition includes:

1) the vehicle is in a non-Ready state; or

2) The fault grade is greater than or equal to grade 3 (except for OBC three-grade fault); or

3) Cruise key voltage failure; or

4) The "CRUISE" key is pressed, where pressing the "CRUISE" key refers to the function of the conventional CRUISE key implemented by a single CRUISE key of an embodiment of the present invention, which in this case is a CRUISE close command.

And thirdly, when the following third preset condition is met, the vehicle jumps from the active state to the Standby state.

The third preset condition includes:

1) the brake pedal is stepped on; or

2) Cutting out a gear D; or

3) The cruise control signal (CDP, VDC, TCS, HDC) state is "0 x 1: switch off cruise control) "; or

4) EPB switch position signal is "0 x 2: appliance "; or

5) The "SET" is pressed. That is, the active state indicates that the vehicle cruise function is activated and is in the Standby state awaiting further driving instructions, at which time the cruise vehicle speed setting function may be activated by again pressing the key.

And fourthly, when the cruise state is OFF, if the fourth preset condition is met, entering the Standby state.

The fourth preset condition includes:

1) the vehicle is in Ready state; and is

2) The failure grade of the whole vehicle is less than 3 grade (the OBC failure is less than or equal to three grades); and is

3) The cruise key has no voltage fault; and is

4) The "CRUISE" key is pressed. The "CRUISE" key is pressed here in response to a CRUISE-on command, i.e. only the CRUISE function is switched on first, so that it can be brought into the Standby state.

Accordingly, the CRUISE control apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention implements the CRUISE state switching corresponding to both the conventional SET key and the conventional CRUISE key in the conventional CRUISE control scheme by the single CRUISE key 100.

In addition, in the conventional cruise control scheme, a cruise icon and a cruise vehicle speed icon are generally provided at the instrument panel at the same time. In contrast, in the scheme of the embodiment of the invention, due to the consideration of hardware and cost, the single icon display is realized on the basis of the thought of one-key setting, so that the requirement of human-computer interaction is met. Specifically, referring again to fig. 1, the cruise control apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention may further include: a single display 300 communicatively coupled to the controller 200 and configured to display different cruise conditions through different light conditions.

For example, assuming that a single display 300 of an embodiment of the present invention is used to support the display of the cruise icon, displaying different cruise statuses through different light statuses may include the following two schemes:

1) man-machine interaction is realized by distinguishing the colors of the icons, for example, a driver presses (CRUISE function, CRUISE state is converted into Standby) once the CRUISE icon is lightened (yellow), and presses (SET function, CRUISE state is converted into active) once the CRUISE icon is changed into green and enters a CRUISE state;

2) the man-machine interaction is realized by distinguishing the icon states, for example, the driver presses (CRUISE function, CRUISE state is converted into Standby) once the CRUISE icon lights up and flickers, and presses (SET function, CRUISE state is converted into active) once the CRUISE icon stops flickering.

Therefore, the embodiment of the invention enables the cruise icons to show different cruise states in different lighting modes through a single display piece, so that the cruise speed icon does not need to be additionally arranged, the cost is reduced, and the instrument display panel has more space due to the fact that the cruise speed icon is reduced.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a cruise control method according to another embodiment of the present invention, which is applied to the controller 200 of the cruise control apparatus according to the above-described embodiment. As shown in fig. 3, the cruise control method includes:

and step S310, identifying the real-time pressing time of the single cruise key.

The real-time actuation time is obtained, for example, by identifying the duration of the high level generated by the actuation of the cruise key 100.

And step S320, determining the cruise instruction corresponding to the identified real-time pressing time.

For example, the corresponding cruise command is determined by the above table.

Step S330, controlling the vehicle to execute the determined cruise command.

For example, the vehicle is controlled to execute a cruise switch command.

In a preferred embodiment, the step S330 may further include: the method comprises the steps of obtaining vehicle state information, judging whether a vehicle meets a preset condition for executing a corresponding cruise instruction or not according to the vehicle state information, and if so, controlling the vehicle to execute the cruise instruction to enter a corresponding cruise state, wherein the cruise state comprises an activated (activated) state, an OFF (OFF) state and a Standby (Standby) state. For example, when the vehicle executes a cruise speed setting command, the vehicle needs to be controlled to enter an active state and then enter a Standby state to wait for further operation of the driver.

For details and effects of the cruise control method according to this embodiment, reference may be made to the foregoing embodiments related to the cruise control device, and details are not repeated herein.

Another embodiment of the present invention also provides a steering wheel, including: a steering wheel body; and a single cruise key 100 as described above in relation to the embodiment of the cruise control device, and the single cruise key 100 is provided on the steering wheel body.

The steering wheel of the embodiment of the invention realizes the functions of a plurality of keys in the traditional cruise control scheme through a single cruise key, is convenient for a driver to operate and is beneficial to improving the layout design of the steering wheel.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, embodiments of the present invention may be provided as a method, apparatus, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

The present invention is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a controller of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the controller of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

In a typical configuration, a computing device includes one or more Controllers (CPUs), input/output interfaces, network interfaces, and memory.

The memory may include forms of volatile memory in a computer readable medium, Random Access Memory (RAM) and/or non-volatile memory, such as Read Only Memory (ROM) or flash memory (flash RAM). The memory is an example of a computer-readable medium.

Computer-readable media, including both non-transitory and non-transitory, removable and non-removable media, may implement information storage by any method or technology. The information may be computer readable instructions, data structures, modules of a program, or other data. Examples of computer storage media include, but are not limited to, phase change memory (PRAM), Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), other types of Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM), Digital Versatile Discs (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transmission medium that can be used to store information that can be accessed by a computing device. As defined herein, a computer readable medium does not include a transitory computer readable medium such as a modulated data signal and a carrier wave.

It should also be noted that the term "comprises/comprising" or any other variation thereof is intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising an … …" does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

The above description is only for the purpose of illustrating the preferred embodiments of the present invention and is not to be construed as limiting the invention, and any modifications, equivalents, improvements and the like that fall within the spirit and principle of the present invention are intended to be included therein.

Claims

1. A cruise control apparatus, characterized by comprising:

a single integrated cruise key disposed in a driver operating area of a vehicle and configured to send different cruise commands in response to different press times, the cruise commands including any one or more of a cruise switch command, a cruise vehicle speed setting command, a cruise acceleration command, a cruise deceleration command, a cruise reset command, and a cruise cancellation command; and

and the controller is in communication connection with the cruise key and is used for identifying the real-time pressing time of the cruise key and controlling the vehicle to execute a cruise instruction corresponding to the real-time pressing time.

2. The cruise control device according to claim 1, wherein said cruise key being configured to send different cruise commands in response to different actuation times comprises:

when the pressing time of the cruise key is greater than or equal to a first time threshold value, the cruise key is configured to send a first instruction; and

when the pressing time of the cruise key is smaller than the first time threshold value, the cruise key is configured to send a second instruction;

wherein the first and second commands are different cruise commands.

3. The cruise control device according to claim 1, wherein said cruise key is configured to generate a specified level signal when pressed, and send the specified level signal to said controller; and is provided with

The controller is used for identifying the real-time pressing time of the cruise key and comprises the following steps: and determining the real-time pressing time of the cruise key according to the duration time of the received specified level signal.

4. Cruise control device according to claim 1, characterized in that the controller is a vehicle control unit VCU.

5. The cruise control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said controller for controlling said vehicle to execute a cruise command corresponding to said real-time push time comprises: the method comprises the steps of obtaining vehicle state information, judging whether a vehicle meets preset conditions for executing a corresponding cruise instruction or not according to the vehicle state information, and if so, controlling the vehicle to execute the cruise instruction to enter a corresponding cruise state, wherein the cruise state comprises an activated state, a closed state and a standby state.

6. The cruise control device according to claim 5, further comprising:

a single display in communicative connection with the controller and configured to display different cruise conditions through different light conditions.

7. A cruise control method characterized by being applied to the controller of a cruise control apparatus recited in any one of claims 1 to 6, and comprising:

identifying a real-time press time of the single integrated cruise key;

determining a cruise instruction corresponding to the identified real-time pressing time, wherein the cruise instruction comprises any one or more of a cruise switch instruction, a cruise vehicle speed setting instruction, a cruise acceleration instruction, a cruise deceleration instruction, a cruise reset instruction and a cruise cancellation instruction; and

controlling the vehicle to execute the determined cruise command.

8. The cruise control method according to claim 7, wherein said controlling the vehicle to execute the determined cruise command comprises:

the method comprises the steps of obtaining vehicle state information, judging whether a vehicle meets preset conditions for executing a corresponding cruise command or not according to the vehicle state information, and if so, controlling the vehicle to execute the cruise command to enter a corresponding cruise state, wherein the cruise state comprises an activated state, a closed state and a standby state.

9. A steering wheel, characterized in that the steering wheel comprises:

a steering wheel body; and

-the single integrated cruise key of a cruise control device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, and arranged on the steering wheel body.