CN114524005A

CN114524005A - Vehicle grouping method, device and system, vehicle and storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN114524005A
Application number: CN202011312259.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 卓开阔; 陈楚君; 刘伟华; 吴智利; 唐睿星
Original assignee: BYD Co Ltd
Current assignee: BYD Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-11-20
Filing date: 2020-11-20
Publication date: 2022-05-24
Anticipated expiration: 2040-11-20
Also published as: US20230278609A1; CN114524005B; WO2022105865A1

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a method, apparatus, system, vehicle and storage medium for vehicle grouping. After receiving a train formation control instruction sent by train control equipment, determining a second vehicle to be formed according to the train formation control instruction, detecting a first vehicle distance between the second vehicle and the second vehicle, and receiving a second vehicle distance sent by the second vehicle; and under the condition that the difference value between the first vehicle interval and the second vehicle interval is smaller than or equal to the first distance threshold value, taking the first vehicle and the second vehicle as the vehicles in the target train formation, and controlling the first vehicle and the second vehicle to form a group, so that the virtual formation of the vehicles is realized. Like this, through the contrast of first car interval and second car interval, ensured the accuracy of the first car interval that detects, under the condition of range unit trouble, can avoid because the vehicle collision accident that first car interval detection mistake leads to the security of vehicle marshalling has been improved.

Description

Vehicle grouping method, device and system, vehicle and storage medium

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of vehicle control, and in particular, to a method, an apparatus, a system, a vehicle, and a storage medium for vehicle grouping.

Background

Rail transit is a very important daily travel mode, such as trains, subways, high-speed rails, and the like. In train operation, it is a common control method to perform train marshalling according to train capacity and passenger number, for example, during rush hours, the number of passengers in one direction is very large, and the number of passengers in the other direction is very small, so that when a train moves from one direction to the other direction, the train marshalling needs to be performed again to improve the operation efficiency of the train. In the related art, a rail transit train adopts a virtual formation mode based on vehicle-to-vehicle communication, but the safety of the virtual formation cannot be guaranteed, and the risk of vehicle collision occurs in the formation process.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the above problems, the present disclosure provides a method, an apparatus, a system, a vehicle, and a storage medium for vehicle grouping.

In a first aspect, the present disclosure provides a method of vehicle grouping, applicable to a first vehicle, the method comprising:

receiving a train formation control instruction sent by a train control device, wherein the train formation control instruction is used for indicating a vehicle for vehicle formation;

determining a second vehicle to be marshalled according to the train marshalling control instruction;

detecting a first vehicle separation distance from the second vehicle;

receiving a second inter-vehicle distance sent by the second vehicle, wherein the second inter-vehicle distance is the distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle detected by the second vehicle;

and when the difference value between the first vehicle distance and the second vehicle distance is smaller than or equal to a first distance threshold value, taking the first vehicle and the second vehicle as vehicles in a target train formation, and controlling the first vehicle and the second vehicle to form the train.

In a second aspect, the present disclosure provides another method of vehicle grouping, applicable to a second vehicle, the method comprising:

determining a first vehicle to be marshalled according to the train marshalling control instruction;

detecting a second vehicle-to-vehicle distance of the second vehicle from the first vehicle;

sending the second inter-vehicle distance to the first vehicle so that the first vehicle controls the first vehicle and the second vehicle to make a group according to the second inter-vehicle distance.

In a third aspect, the present disclosure provides a vehicle grouping apparatus comprising:

a memory having a computer program stored thereon;

a processor for executing the computer program in the memory to implement the steps of the method of the first aspect.

In a fourth aspect, the present disclosure provides a vehicle grouping apparatus comprising:

a memory having a computer program stored thereon;

a processor for executing the computer program in the memory to implement the steps of the method of the second aspect.

In a fifth aspect, the present disclosure provides a vehicle consist system comprising: train control device, first vehicle, and second vehicle

The train control device transmits a train formation control instruction to a first vehicle and a second vehicle, the train formation control instruction being used for indicating a vehicle which performs vehicle formation;

the first vehicle includes the vehicle grouping apparatus of the third aspect of the disclosure;

the second vehicle includes the vehicle grouping apparatus of the fourth aspect of the disclosure;

optionally, the system further comprises: the collision buffer assembly is arranged at the joint of the first vehicle and the second vehicle and used for buffering the impact force generated when the first vehicle and the second vehicle collide.

Optionally, the crash cushion assembly comprises a semi-permanent tow bar.

In a sixth aspect, the present disclosure provides a vehicle including the vehicle grouping apparatus of the third aspect of the present disclosure

In a seventh aspect, the present disclosure provides a vehicle including the vehicle grouping apparatus of the fourth aspect of the present disclosure.

In an eighth aspect, the present disclosure provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by a processor, performs the steps of the method of the first aspect of the present disclosure.

In a ninth aspect, the present disclosure provides a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by a processor, performs the steps of the method of the second aspect of the present disclosure.

According to the technical scheme, after a train formation control instruction sent by the train control equipment is received, a second vehicle to be formed is determined according to the train formation control instruction, a first vehicle distance between the second vehicle and the second vehicle is detected, and a second vehicle distance sent by the second vehicle is received; and under the condition that the difference value between the first vehicle spacing and the second vehicle spacing is smaller than or equal to the first distance threshold value, taking the first vehicle and the second vehicle as the vehicles in the target train formation, and controlling the first vehicle and the second vehicle to form the group, thereby realizing the virtual formation of the vehicles. Like this, through the contrast of first car interval and second car interval, ensured the accuracy of the first car interval that detects, under the condition of range unit trouble, can avoid because the vehicle collision accident that first car interval detection mistake leads to the security of vehicle marshalling has been improved.

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

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and together with the description serve to explain the disclosure without limiting the disclosure. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a vehicle consist system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method of vehicle grouping provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a second method of vehicle grouping provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a third method of vehicle grouping provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a vehicle grouping apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 6 is a block diagram of a vehicle provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

The following detailed description of specific embodiments of the present disclosure is provided in connection with the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the present disclosure, are given by way of illustration and explanation only, not limitation.

In the description that follows, the terms "first," "second," and the like are used for descriptive purposes only and are not intended to indicate or imply relative importance nor order to be construed.

First, an application scenario of the present disclosure will be explained. The present disclosure may be applied to vehicle consist and control scenarios, in particular consist and control of rail transit trains. In the related art, a rail transit train adopts a virtual marshalling mode based on vehicle-to-vehicle communication, the virtual marshalling requires to obtain an accurate inter-vehicle distance, the accuracy requirement on distance measuring equipment of a vehicle is high, if the distance measuring equipment fails to cause an error in the measured distance, vehicle marshalling failure can be caused due to inaccurate acquired inter-vehicle distance, and even the danger of vehicle collision occurs in the vehicle marshalling process, so that potential safety hazards exist. A large distance may be measured, for example, due to a fault in the distance measuring device, which may result in a vehicle collision; on the contrary, if the measured distance is too small due to the fault of the distance measuring equipment, the distance between the vehicles may not reach the preset marshalling distance, and the vehicle marshalling cannot be completed for a long time.

In order to solve the above problems, the present disclosure provides a method, an apparatus, a system, a vehicle, and a storage medium for vehicle grouping, the method including: after receiving a train formation control instruction sent by the train control equipment, determining a second vehicle to be formed according to the train formation control instruction, detecting a first vehicle distance between the second vehicle and the second vehicle, and receiving a second vehicle distance sent by the second vehicle; and under the condition that the difference value between the first vehicle spacing and the second vehicle spacing is smaller than or equal to the first distance threshold value, taking the first vehicle and the second vehicle as the vehicles in the target train formation, and controlling the first vehicle and the second vehicle to form the group, thereby realizing the virtual formation of the vehicles. Like this, through the contrast of first car interval and second car interval, ensured the accuracy of the first car interval that detects, under the condition of range unit trouble, can avoid because the vehicle collision accident that first car interval detection mistake leads to the security of vehicle marshalling has been improved.

The following detailed description of specific embodiments of the present disclosure is provided in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle grouping system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in fig. 1, the vehicle grouping system including: a first vehicle 101, a second vehicle 102, a train control device 111, wherein:

the train control device 111 may be configured to transmit a train formation control instruction for instructing a vehicle making a train formation to the first vehicle and the second vehicle.

The first vehicle 101 and the second vehicle 102 are used as vehicles to be programmed into the target train formation, the first vehicle may be used as a rear vehicle of the target train formation, the second vehicle may be used as a front vehicle of the target train formation, and the first vehicle and the second vehicle may report respective positions to the train control device. The first vehicle and the second vehicle can directly communicate with each other, so that communication time delay is reduced, and vehicle grouping efficiency is improved.

It should be noted that the first vehicle may also be a front vehicle to be programmed into the target train consist, and the second vehicle may be a rear vehicle to be programmed into the target train consist, which is not limited by the present disclosure.

In addition, the first vehicle may be a single vehicle, or may be a vehicle that has completed a train set according to the train set control command; similarly, the second vehicle may be a single vehicle or may be a vehicle that has completed a train set in accordance with the train set control command. The first vehicle and the second vehicle may be on the same train track for marshalling and control.

Optionally, the vehicle grouping system may further include: the collision buffer assembly is arranged at the joint of the first vehicle and the second vehicle and used for buffering the impact force generated when the first vehicle and the second vehicle collide.

Optionally, the crash cushion assembly may include a semi-permanent tow bar, and further, may also include a semi-permanent tow bar with a cushioning function. The crash cushion assembly may also include a draft gear with a cushioning function.

Optionally, the train control device may further obtain an instruction for grouping the first vehicle and the second vehicle according to a control input of a train controller or an input of an automatic statistical algorithm, where the train control device may perform the following operations:

first, position information of a first vehicle and a second vehicle is acquired, and a current inter-vehicle distance of the first vehicle and the second vehicle is calculated.

It should be noted that the position information of the vehicle may be relative position information of the vehicle on the track, and is obtained based on a positioning system of the vehicle and the track. The accuracy of the position information may be relatively low, for example, 2 meters, 5 meters, 10 meters, or 20 meters.

Secondly, when the current inter-vehicle distance is smaller than the preset formation starting distance, a train formation control command is sent to the first vehicle and the second vehicle for indicating the vehicles for performing the train formation.

Wherein the train consist control command may include a first target vehicle identification and a second target vehicle identification to be formed.

The first vehicle and the second vehicle may perform the vehicle formation after receiving the train formation control instruction, and a specific manner in which the first vehicle and the second vehicle perform the vehicle formation will be described in the following embodiments.

Fig. 2 is a method for vehicle grouping provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure, and as shown in fig. 2, a main execution body of the method may be a first vehicle, and may also be a vehicle grouping device or an electronic device included in the first vehicle, where the method includes:

s201, receiving a train formation control command sent by the train control equipment.

The train formation control command is used for indicating a vehicle for performing train formation.

The train formation control command can include contents in various ways, and can only include first indication information for indicating that a first vehicle selects one target vehicle closest to the front for formation; and the vehicle identifier to be grouped can also be contained for indicating the first vehicle to select the corresponding target vehicle for grouping. In addition, the train set control command may be acquired and transmitted by the train control apparatus.

And S202, determining a second vehicle to be formed according to the train forming control command.

In this step, if the train formation control command only contains the instruction information, determining one target vehicle closest to the front distance of the head of the first vehicle as a second vehicle to be formed; if the train formation control instruction includes a second target vehicle identifier to be formed, the first vehicle may determine the second vehicle to be formed according to the second target vehicle identifier.

S203, detecting a first vehicle distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle.

In this step, a first vehicle-to-vehicle distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle may be detected by a distance measuring device mounted on the first vehicle, where the distance measuring device may be a DLS (Direct positioning System), and may also include a distance measuring sensor, and the distance measuring sensor may measure a distance between the first vehicle and an opposite second vehicle as the first vehicle-to-vehicle distance by using a method such as laser, radar, infrared, or ultrasonic.

In the case that the first vehicle is a rear vehicle, the ranging sensor may be installed at a head position of the first vehicle to improve reliability of ranging. In contrast, in the case where the first vehicle is a preceding vehicle, the ranging sensor may be mounted at a rear end position of the first vehicle.

Alternatively, the distance measuring sensor may be a high-precision distance measuring sensor having a distance measuring precision of 10cm or less to improve the precision of vehicle grouping control.

S204, receiving a second vehicle distance sent by a second vehicle, wherein the second vehicle distance is the distance between the second vehicle and the first vehicle, which is detected by the second vehicle.

Similarly, the second vehicle interval may be detected by a distance measuring device mounted on the second vehicle, and the received second vehicle interval may be directly used as the second vehicle interval to be transmitted by the second vehicle.

Optionally, in further embodiments of the present disclosure; the second vehicle may send both the second range and the second vehicle identification. When a second inter-train distance and a second vehicle identification sent by a second vehicle are received and a second target vehicle identification to be marshalled is included in the train marshalling control instruction: if the received second vehicle identification is a second target vehicle identification in the train formation control command, confirming that the second inter-vehicle distance is received; otherwise, if the received second vehicle identifier is not the second target vehicle identifier in the train formation control command, the second inter-vehicle distance is determined not to be sent by the second vehicle to be formed, and the second inter-vehicle distance is discarded and not used. Therefore, the interference of other vehicles when a plurality of vehicles send commands simultaneously can be avoided, and the accuracy of vehicle marshalling is improved.

Optionally, the train formation control command received by the first vehicle is time-efficient, that is, the second inter-vehicle distance sent by the second vehicle is not received within the preset time, the vehicle formation is stopped, and the train control device is notified. In this way, the reliability of the vehicle consist can be further improved.

And S205, when the difference value between the first vehicle distance and the second vehicle distance is smaller than or equal to the first distance threshold value, taking the first vehicle and the second vehicle as the vehicles in the target train formation, and controlling the first vehicle and the second vehicle to form the train.

In this step, the first distance threshold may be 0, which indicates that the first vehicle interval and the second vehicle interval are equal; the distance may be set to any distance between 1 cm and 1 m according to the ranging accuracy of the ranging sensors used on the first vehicle and the second vehicle, for example, in the case where the ranging accuracy of the ranging sensors is less than or equal to 10cm, the first distance threshold may be 10cm or 20 cm.

The method comprises the steps of confirming that the difference value between the first vehicle distance and the second vehicle distance is smaller than or equal to a first distance threshold value, confirming the accuracy of the detected first vehicle distance, and avoiding the problem that the detected first vehicle distance is wrong due to the fact that a distance measuring device breaks down or an obstacle exists in the middle of the vehicle.

There are several ways of controlling the first and second vehicles to make a consist:

in the case where the second vehicle is in a stationary state or in the case where the first vehicle is in a stationary state, the first vehicle may be controlled to travel toward the second vehicle at a preset vehicle speed until the first vehicle-to-second vehicle distance is less than or equal to a preset train set distance, with the first vehicle and the second vehicle being vehicles in the target train set.

When the second vehicle is in a moving state and the vehicle speed is less than the preset vehicle speed threshold value, the first vehicle can be controlled to travel to the second vehicle at the preset vehicle speed until the first vehicle-to-second vehicle distance is less than or equal to the preset train formation distance, and the first vehicle and the second vehicle are used as vehicles in the target train formation.

In the case where the second vehicle is in a moving state and the vehicle speed is greater than the preset vehicle speed threshold value, the first vehicle and the second vehicle may be regarded as vehicles in the target train consist by first sending a consist request to the second vehicle so that the second vehicle reduces the vehicle speed or enters a stationary state after receiving the consist request, and then controlling the first vehicle to travel to the second vehicle at the preset vehicle speed until the first vehicle-to-second vehicle distance is less than or equal to the preset consist distance.

By adopting the method, after receiving a train formation control command sent by the train control equipment, determining a second vehicle to be formed according to the train formation control command, detecting a first vehicle distance between the second vehicle and the second vehicle, and receiving a second vehicle distance sent by the second vehicle; and under the condition that the difference value between the first vehicle spacing and the second vehicle spacing is smaller than or equal to the first distance threshold value, taking the first vehicle and the second vehicle as the vehicles in the target train formation, and controlling the first vehicle and the second vehicle to form the group, thereby realizing the virtual formation of the vehicles. Like this, through the contrast of first car interval and second car interval, ensured the accuracy of the first car interval that detects, under the condition of range unit trouble, can avoid because the vehicle collision accident that first car interval detection mistake leads to the reliability of vehicle marshalling has been improved.

Optionally, in another embodiment of the present disclosure, after a difference between the first vehicle distance and the second vehicle distance is less than or equal to the first distance threshold, the method further includes:

first, the first vehicle is controlled to travel to shorten a first inter-vehicle distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle.

The mode of controlling the first vehicle to travel may include any one of the following control modes:

in the case that the first vehicle is in a static state and no traction force is applied, the traction force can be applied, and the first vehicle is controlled to travel towards the direction of the second vehicle, so that the first vehicle-to-second vehicle distance is shortened.

In the case where the first vehicle is in a driving condition and less tractive effort is applied, the tractive effort may be increased, for example, from 5% to 10% of the total tractive effort of the vehicle, increasing the speed of the first vehicle to shorten the first vehicle separation distance of the first vehicle from the second vehicle.

In the case where the first vehicle is in the running state and a large braking force is applied, the braking force may be reduced, and the vehicle speed of the first vehicle may be increased to shorten the first inter-vehicle distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle.

Further, in the case where the first inter-vehicle distance is large (for example, the first inter-vehicle distance is 20 meters or 30 meters) or the difference between the first inter-vehicle distance and the preset grouping distance is large (for example, the preset grouping distance is 1 meter, and the first inter-vehicle distance is 10 meters), a large traction force may be applied, for example, 20% traction force may be applied, and the first vehicle may be controlled to travel at a faster vehicle speed, so as to quickly shorten the first inter-vehicle distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle;

in the case where the first inter-vehicle distance is small (for example, the first inter-vehicle distance is 2 meters) or the difference between the first inter-vehicle distance and the preset grouping distance is small (for example, the preset grouping distance is 10 meters and the first inter-vehicle distance is 11 meters), a small traction force, for example, 2% traction force, may be added to control the first vehicle to travel at a slower vehicle speed, so that the first inter-vehicle distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle can be accurately controlled to be smaller than or equal to the preset grouping distance without a collision between the first vehicle and the second vehicle.

And secondly, periodically detecting a first vehicle interval, and under the condition that the detected first vehicle intervals in a continuous preset number of periods are smaller than or equal to a preset train formation distance, executing the step of taking the first vehicle and the second vehicle as the vehicles in the target train formation, and controlling the first vehicle and the second vehicle to form the train.

The detection period for detecting the first vehicle interval can be any preset time period between 1 millisecond and 10 seconds, the control accuracy requirement of the first vehicle interval and the marshalling target distance can be set according to the vehicle marshalling group, and if higher control accuracy is required, a smaller detection period can be used; on the contrary, if the requirement on the control precision is not high, a larger detection period can be used in order to reduce the load of the control system.

The preset number may also be set according to the requirements of the control accuracy and the grouping time, for example, if the requirement on the control accuracy is high and the requirement on the grouping time is low, a larger preset number may be set, for example, if the detection period is 10 milliseconds, the preset number may be set to 300; in the case where the detection period is 50 msec, the preset number may be set to 100. For another example, if the requirement on the grouping time is high, that is, the grouping is required to be completed in a short time, a smaller preset number may be set, for example, in the case that the detection period is 10 milliseconds, the preset number may be set to 20; in the case where the sensing period is 50 msec, the preset number may be set to 10.

Similarly, the judgment condition that the first vehicle distances detected in the consecutive preset number of periods are all smaller than or equal to the preset grouping distance may also use the first vehicle distances detected in the consecutive preset time that are all smaller than or equal to the preset grouping distance as the judgment condition, and the preset time may be any time between 100 milliseconds and 10 seconds.

Thus, by adopting the above mode, under the condition that the first vehicle distances detected in the continuous preset number of periods are both smaller than or equal to the preset train formation distance, the distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle is judged to be relatively stable, and at the moment, the first vehicle and the second vehicle are taken as the vehicles in the target train formation, so that the reliability of the vehicle formation is further improved.

Fig. 3 is a second vehicle grouping method provided in the embodiment of the disclosure, and as shown in fig. 3, an execution subject of the method may be a second vehicle, and may also be an electronic device included in the second vehicle, for vehicle grouping, where the method includes:

and S301, receiving a train formation control command sent by the train control equipment.

Likewise, the train formation control command may include contents in various ways, and may include only second indication information for indicating that a second vehicle selects a target vehicle closest to the rear of the vehicle for formation; the system also comprises a first vehicle identifier to be grouped for instructing a second vehicle to select a corresponding target vehicle to group. In addition, the train set control command may be acquired and transmitted by the train control apparatus.

Alternatively, after receiving a train consist control command transmitted from the train control apparatus, in order to ensure the safety of the train consist, the execution of the backing operation is prohibited during the train consist or during the synchronous operation after the train consist is successful. If the train formation fails or after the train formation is released, the original operation mode can be recovered, and the backing operation is allowed to be executed according to the original operation mode.

S302, determining a first vehicle to be formed according to the train formation control command.

In this step, for a specific manner of determining the first vehicle, reference may be made to a manner of determining the second vehicle in step S202 described above, and details are not repeated here.

S303, detecting a second inter-vehicle distance between the second vehicle and the first vehicle.

Similarly, in this step, the specific manner of detecting the second vehicle interval may refer to the manner of detecting the first vehicle interval in the step S203, which is not described herein again.

And S304, sending the second vehicle distance to the first vehicle so that the first vehicle controls the first vehicle and the second vehicle to form a group according to the second vehicle distance.

By adopting the method, after receiving the train formation control command sent by the train control equipment, the first vehicle to be formed is determined according to the train formation control command, the second vehicle distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle is detected, and the second vehicle distance is sent to the first vehicle, so that the first vehicle controls the first vehicle and the second vehicle to form a group according to the second vehicle distance, and the virtual formation of the vehicles is realized. Therefore, the vehicle marshalling time can be reduced, the marshalling efficiency is improved, meanwhile, the accuracy of detecting the first vehicle distance is ensured through the comparison of the first vehicle distance and the second vehicle distance, the vehicle collision accident caused by the error detection of the first vehicle distance is avoided, and the reliability of vehicle marshalling is improved.

Optionally, in some further embodiments of the present disclosure, after sending the second inter-vehicle distance to the first vehicle, the second inter-vehicle distance between the second vehicle and the first vehicle may also be periodically detected, and in a case where the second inter-vehicle distances detected in a consecutive preset number of periods are both less than or equal to a preset train set distance, the first vehicle and the second vehicle are regarded as vehicles in the target train set.

Similarly, the judgment condition that the second inter-vehicle distances detected in the consecutive preset number of cycles are all less than or equal to the preset grouping distance may also be used as the judgment condition that the second inter-vehicle distances detected in the consecutive preset time are all less than or equal to the preset grouping distance, and the preset time may be any time between 100 milliseconds and 10 seconds.

Thus, by adopting the above mode, when the second inter-vehicle distances detected in the consecutive preset number of periods are both smaller than or equal to the preset train formation distance, the distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle is judged to be relatively stable, and at this time, the first vehicle and the second vehicle are used as the vehicles in the target train formation, so that the reliability of the vehicle formation is further improved.

Fig. 4 is a third vehicle grouping method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in fig. 4, the method including:

s401, the train control equipment sends a train formation control command to the first vehicle and the second vehicle.

In this step, the train control apparatus may determine a first vehicle and a second vehicle to be marshalled based on a control instruction of a control person, and transmit a train marshalling control instruction indicating the vehicles to be marshalled to the first vehicle and the second vehicle. The train formation control command may include a first target vehicle identifier and a second target vehicle identifier to be formed. Alternatively, the first target vehicle identification may be a rear vehicle identification to be marshalled and the second target vehicle identification may be a front vehicle identification to be marshalled.

Alternatively, the train formation control command may have timeliness, that is, after the train control center sends the train formation control command, if a train formation completion command sent by the first vehicle and the second vehicle is not received within a preset time, it is confirmed that the train formation is failed this time, and a train formation stop command may be sent to the first vehicle and the second vehicle. Similarly, if the first vehicle or the second vehicle does not complete the present vehicle formation within a preset time after receiving the train formation control command, the first vehicle or the second vehicle may stop the present vehicle formation and notify the train control apparatus. Therefore, the reliability and effectiveness of train marshalling can be improved, and the problem that the train cannot be stopped in time after the train marshalling fails is solved.

S402, the first vehicle receives a train formation control command sent by the train control equipment.

S403, the first vehicle determines whether the first vehicle identifier is a first target vehicle identifier in the train formation control command.

The first vehicle identifier of the first vehicle may be a preset identifier in vehicle control software, or may be a hardware identifier set on the first vehicle, for example, the hardware identifier of a vehicle-mounted control system of the vehicle, or a hardware identifier of a direct positioning system of the vehicle. Therefore, the situation that the wrong grouping control command is received to trigger wrong grouping control can be avoided, and the reliability and the safety of vehicle grouping are improved.

Further, in the case where the first vehicle identification of the first vehicle is not the first target vehicle identification in the train set control instruction, the vehicle set is stopped and the subsequent steps are not performed any more, at which time, a set rejection instruction may also be transmitted to the train control apparatus.

And S404, the first vehicle determines a second vehicle to be formed according to the train formation control command.

In this step, candidate vehicles may be first determined according to the train consist control command; then, vehicle identification verification is carried out on the candidate vehicle to determine whether the vehicle identification of the candidate vehicle is a second target vehicle identification in the train formation control command; when the first vehicle identifier of the first vehicle is determined to be the first target vehicle identifier in the train formation control command and the vehicle identifier of the candidate vehicle is determined to be the second target vehicle identifier in the train formation control command, the candidate vehicle is taken as the second vehicle, and the first vehicle and the second vehicle are controlled to form a train; in the case where it is determined that the vehicle identification of the candidate vehicle is not the second target vehicle identification in the train consist control instruction, the vehicle consist is stopped and the subsequent steps are not performed any more, at this time, a consist rejection instruction may also be transmitted to the train control apparatus so that the train control apparatus notifies the second vehicle of stopping the vehicle consist after receiving the consist rejection instruction.

The vehicle identification verification of the candidate vehicle may be performed by:

first, the first vehicle sends a first vehicle identification of the first vehicle to the candidate vehicle.

Secondly, after receiving the first vehicle identifier, the candidate vehicle determines whether the first vehicle identifier is a first target vehicle identifier in the train formation control command, and if the first vehicle identifier is the first target vehicle identifier in the train formation control command, a vehicle identifier verification success command is sent to the first vehicle. In addition, the candidate vehicle may also carry the vehicle identification of the candidate vehicle in the identification verification success instruction. In the case where the first vehicle identification is not the first target vehicle identification in the train set control command, an identification verification failure command is transmitted to the first vehicle or no command is transmitted to the first vehicle. It is to be noted that the candidate vehicle has received the train consist control instruction transmitted from the train control apparatus before receiving the connection establishment request. If no train consist control command is received, no command may be sent to the first vehicle.

And finally, the first vehicle receives the identification verification success command sent by the candidate vehicle, and then the vehicle identification verification is determined to be successful, namely the vehicle identification of the candidate vehicle is determined to be the second target vehicle identification in the train formation control command. In addition, under the condition that the identification verification success command carries the vehicle identification of the candidate vehicle, the first vehicle can also perform identification verification according to the vehicle identification of the candidate vehicle and the second target vehicle identification in the train formation control command, and when the vehicle identification of the candidate vehicle is determined to be the second target vehicle identification in the train formation control command, the candidate vehicle is taken as the second vehicle to continue the vehicle formation, so that the bidirectional verification of the vehicle identification is realized, and the safety is further improved. On the contrary, if the first vehicle receives the identifier verification failure instruction sent by the candidate vehicle or does not receive the connection establishment success instruction within a certain time, it is determined that the vehicle identifier verification fails, that is, it is determined that the vehicle identifier of the candidate vehicle is not the second target vehicle identifier in the train formation control instruction.

Optionally, the process of performing the vehicle identifier verification with the candidate vehicle may also be actively initiated by the candidate vehicle, that is, the candidate vehicle first sends the vehicle identifier of the candidate vehicle, and after the first vehicle receives the vehicle identifier of the candidate vehicle, the vehicle identifier of the candidate vehicle and the second target vehicle identifier in the train formation control command are subjected to identifier verification to determine whether the vehicle identifier of the candidate vehicle is the second target vehicle identifier.

In addition, the vehicle identification verification with the candidate vehicle may be performed during the connection between the first vehicle and the candidate vehicle, in the following manner:

first, a first vehicle sends a connection establishment request to a candidate vehicle, and carries a first vehicle identifier of the first vehicle in the connection establishment request.

Secondly, after receiving the connection establishment request, the candidate vehicle determines whether a first vehicle identifier in the connection establishment request is a first target vehicle identifier in the received train formation control command, and sends a connection establishment success command to the first vehicle if the first vehicle identifier is the first target vehicle identifier in the train formation control command; in the case where the first vehicle identification is not the first target vehicle identification in the train set control command, then a connection establishment failure command is sent to the first vehicle or no command is sent to the first vehicle. It is to be noted that the candidate vehicle has received the train consist control instruction transmitted from the train control apparatus before receiving the connection establishment request. If the train consist control command is not received, the connection establishment request may not be processed, nor any command may be sent to the first vehicle.

And finally, the first vehicle receives the connection establishment success command sent by the candidate vehicle, and then the vehicle identification is determined to be successfully verified, namely the vehicle identification of the candidate vehicle is determined to be the second target vehicle identification in the train formation control command. On the contrary, if the first vehicle receives the connection establishment failure instruction sent by the candidate vehicle or does not receive the connection establishment success instruction within a certain time, it is determined that the vehicle identification verification fails, that is, it is determined that the vehicle identification of the candidate vehicle is not the second target vehicle identification in the train formation control instruction.

Similarly, vehicle identification verification is performed with the candidate vehicle in the connection establishment process, or the candidate vehicle actively initiates a connection establishment request and carries the vehicle identification of the candidate vehicle, the first vehicle receives the connection establishment request, and performs identification verification according to the vehicle identification of the candidate vehicle and the second target vehicle identification in the train formation control command, so as to determine whether the vehicle identification of the candidate vehicle is the second target vehicle identification in the train formation control command.

In this way, the second vehicle can be confirmed to be the correct target vehicle to be marshalled by performing vehicle identification verification with the second vehicle, and the reliability and safety of vehicle marshalling are further improved.

Further, after the second vehicle is determined, the vehicle-to-vehicle communication time delay of the first vehicle and the second vehicle can be detected, and when the vehicle-to-vehicle communication time delay is smaller than or equal to a first time delay threshold value, the subsequent steps are continuously executed, and the first vehicle and the second vehicle are controlled to be grouped; otherwise the vehicle consist is stopped. Therefore, the real-time performance of the vehicle control of the vehicle-mounted control system in the vehicle grouping process can be ensured.

The first delay threshold may be set to any value between 1 ms and 1000 ms according to the accuracy of the vehicle control, for example, 1 ms, 10 ms, or 50 ms may be used if the requirement for the control accuracy is high, or 100 ms or 500 ms may be used if the requirement for the control accuracy is low.

The detection of the vehicle-to-vehicle communication delay can be obtained by mutually sending a delay detection message between the first vehicle and the second vehicle, and can also be obtained by using an interaction message established by communication connection.

Optionally, in some other embodiments of the present disclosure, after determining the second vehicle to be marshalled according to the train marshalling control instruction, a system self-test may be further performed, and it is determined whether the first vehicle is in a safe operation state according to a result of the system self-test; under the condition that the first vehicle is in a safe running state, controlling the first vehicle and the second vehicle to form a group; otherwise the vehicle consist is stopped. Therefore, the safety and the effectiveness of vehicle marshalling can be ensured, and safety accidents in the vehicle marshalling process can be avoided.

The system self-check can be self-check on the communication state, the driving output performance and the braking output performance of the vehicle. In particular, in order to ensure the safety of train formation, when the first vehicle is a rear vehicle, the braking output performance needs to be self-checked, so that when an abnormality occurs in the formation, the emergency braking can be successfully performed, and the occurrence of a train collision accident is avoided.

And S405, the second vehicle receives the train formation control command sent by the train control equipment.

And S406, the second vehicle determines whether the second vehicle identifier of the second vehicle is the second target vehicle identifier in the train formation control command.

And S407, the second vehicle determines the first vehicle to be marshalled according to the train marshalling control command.

It should be noted that, for implementation of the steps S405 to S407, reference may be made to the manner of the steps S402 to S404, which is not described herein again.

S408, detecting a first vehicle distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle.

And S409, the second vehicle detects a second vehicle distance with the first vehicle and sends the second vehicle distance to the first vehicle.

In this way, train formation can be performed by the first vehicle according to the second inter-vehicle distance control vehicle.

Similarly, the implementation manner of detecting the first vehicle distance in the step S408 and detecting the second vehicle distance in the step S409 may refer to the manner of the step S203, and is not described herein again.

And S410, the first vehicle receives a second inter-vehicle distance sent by the second vehicle, and when the difference value between the first inter-vehicle distance and the second inter-vehicle distance is smaller than or equal to a first distance threshold value, the first vehicle and the second vehicle are used as vehicles in a target train formation, and the first vehicle and the second vehicle are controlled to form the train.

The manner of controlling the first vehicle and the second vehicle to make a group in this step may include: firstly, controlling a first vehicle to run so as to shorten a first vehicle distance between the first vehicle and a second vehicle; and secondly, periodically detecting the first train interval, and taking the first train and the second train as the trains in the target train formation under the condition that the detected first train intervals in a continuous preset number of periods are all smaller than or equal to a preset formation distance.

Optionally, in some other embodiments of the present disclosure, the second vehicle may be a front vehicle of the first vehicle, and thus, the manner of controlling the first vehicle to travel may also be implemented as follows:

first, the second vehicle may send a first control command to the first vehicle, wherein the first control command may include a traction force or a braking force of the second vehicle.

Secondly, the first vehicle receives a first control command sent by the second vehicle, and controls the traction force or the braking force of the first vehicle according to the first control command so as to control the first vehicle to run. The method for controlling the traction force or the braking force of the first vehicle may include any one of the following methods:

the traction of the first vehicle is increased in the case where the traction of the second vehicle is greater than or equal to the traction of the first vehicle. It should be noted that since the traction force of the second vehicle is large, it can be determined that the vehicle speed of the second vehicle is faster than that of the first vehicle when the weights of the first vehicle and the second vehicle are substantially the same, and in order to shorten the distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle, it is necessary to increase the traction force of the first vehicle and increase the vehicle speed of the first vehicle.

In the event that the tractive effort of the second vehicle is less than the tractive effort of the first vehicle, the tractive effort of the first vehicle is maintained. In the case where the traction force of the second vehicle is smaller than that of the first vehicle, it can be determined that the vehicle speed of the second vehicle is slower than that of the first vehicle, and therefore, the distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle can be shortened while maintaining the traction force of the first vehicle. Of course, if the first vehicle distance is larger, the traction force of the first vehicle can also be increased to shorten the distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle more quickly.

The braking force of the first vehicle is reduced in a case where the braking force of the second vehicle is less than or equal to the braking force of the first vehicle. It should be noted that, when both the first vehicle and the second vehicle are braking, the braking force of the second vehicle is smaller than or equal to the braking force of the first vehicle, and it can be determined that the vehicle speed of the second vehicle is faster than that of the first vehicle, so in order to shorten the distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle, it is necessary to reduce the braking force of the first vehicle, or cancel the braking force of the first vehicle, and increase the traction force of the first vehicle, so as to shorten the distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle more quickly.

The braking force of the first vehicle is maintained in a case where the braking force of the second vehicle is larger than the braking force of the first vehicle. Similarly, when both the first vehicle and the second vehicle are braking, the braking force of the second vehicle is greater than the braking force of the first vehicle, and the vehicle speed of the second vehicle can be determined to be slower than that of the first vehicle. Of course, if the first inter-vehicle distance is larger, the braking force of the first vehicle may be reduced or the traction force of the first vehicle may be increased to shorten the distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle more quickly.

Through the mode, the speed of the first vehicle can be controlled to be larger than that of the second vehicle, so that the distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle is shortened.

Optionally, in some further embodiments of the present disclosure, in controlling the first vehicle and the second vehicle to make a group, the second vehicle may further continue to periodically detect the second inter-vehicle distance and send the detected second inter-vehicle distance to the first vehicle; similarly, the first vehicle continues to periodically detect the first vehicle distance and periodically receives a second vehicle distance sent by the second vehicle, and the first vehicle and the second vehicle are stopped from being grouped under the condition that the difference value between the second vehicle distance and the first vehicle distance is larger than a second distance threshold value; and when the difference value between the first vehicle distance and the second vehicle distance is smaller than or equal to the second distance threshold value, continuing to control the first vehicle to run so as to shorten the first vehicle distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle.

The second distance threshold may be equal to or greater than the first distance threshold. For example: the second distance threshold and the first distance threshold may both be 0. For another example: in the case where the first distance threshold is 20 cm, the second distance threshold may be 40 cm, so that, while the vehicle is traveling, a difference in distance due to a difference in timing at which the first vehicle and the second vehicle detect the inter-vehicle distance can be avoided.

The first vehicle interval and the second vehicle interval can be obtained by the first vehicle in the same period or in two adjacent periods, but in order to ensure the accuracy, the time difference between the time for obtaining the first vehicle interval and the time for obtaining the second vehicle interval is less than or equal to the preset time. Alternatively, the preset time may be an integer multiple of the detection period.

If the difference value between the second vehicle distance and the first vehicle distance is larger than the second distance threshold value, the first vehicle distance is determined to be unreliable, which may be caused by a fault of the distance detection device of the first vehicle or the second vehicle, and at this time, in order to avoid collision in the vehicle driving process, the first vehicle and the second vehicle are stopped to be organized, so that the safety in the vehicle organizing process is improved. Similarly, if the difference between the first inter-vehicle distance and the second inter-vehicle distance is smaller than or equal to the second distance threshold, it is determined that the first inter-vehicle distance is authentic, and the first vehicle can be controlled to run continuously to continue the vehicle formation.

Optionally, in some further embodiments of the present disclosure, in controlling the first vehicle and the second vehicle to make a consist, the second vehicle may also periodically send a first control command to the first vehicle, which may include a traction force or a braking force of the second vehicle; similarly, the first vehicle may also periodically receive the first control command sent by the second vehicle, and the first vehicle adjusts and controls the traction force or the braking force of the first vehicle according to the first control command, and continues to control the first vehicle to travel, so as to shorten the first inter-vehicle distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle. This can achieve more accurate vehicle consist control.

Optionally, in some other embodiments of the present disclosure, in the process of controlling the first vehicle and the second vehicle to perform the formation, if the first vehicle receives a stop formation command sent by the train control center, the first vehicle may stop the formation of the vehicles and send the stop formation command to the second vehicle. Similarly, in the vehicle formation process, if the second vehicle receives a stop formation command sent by the train control center, the vehicle formation can be stopped, and the stop formation command is sent to the first vehicle. Thus, the flexibility and reliability of the vehicle formation can be improved through the control of the train control center.

Optionally, in some further embodiments of the present disclosure, after the first vehicle and the second vehicle are the vehicles in the target train consist, the first vehicle may also send a train consist complete instruction to the second vehicle, and/or send a train consist complete instruction to the train control device. In addition, the first vehicle may also stop controlling the first vehicle to continue to shorten the distance to the second vehicle.

Similarly, the second vehicle may periodically detect the second inter-vehicle distance, and when the second inter-vehicle distances detected in a consecutive preset number of periods are both less than or equal to the preset train formation distance, the first vehicle and the second vehicle are used as vehicles in the target train formation, or when a train formation completion instruction sent by the first vehicle is received, the first vehicle and the second vehicle are used as vehicles in the target train formation. After the first vehicle and the second vehicle are set as vehicles in the target train set, the second vehicle may also send a train set completion instruction to the first vehicle and/or the train control device.

After receiving the train formation completion messages sent by the first vehicle and the second vehicle, the train control device may perform synchronous control using the first vehicle and the second vehicle as the vehicles in the target train formation and using the vehicles in the target train formation as one train.

Optionally, in some other embodiments of the present disclosure, after the first vehicle and the second vehicle are used as the vehicles in the target train formation, the first vehicle will not report the vehicle position information to the train control system, and the second vehicle reports the position information as the position information of the target train formation. In addition, the second vehicle can also calculate the length of the train body of the target train set according to the length of the train body of the first vehicle and the length of the window of the second vehicle, and report the length of the train body of the target train set to the train control equipment.

Optionally, in some other embodiments of the present disclosure, after the first vehicle and the second vehicle are used as vehicles in the target train consist, the first vehicle and the second vehicle enter a synchronous control state of the consist, and at this time, the first vehicle and the second vehicle need to be controlled by the second vehicle in a unified manner, which may include:

first, the second vehicle generates a synchronization control instruction according to the target vehicle operation in a case where the target vehicle operation is performed. The target vehicle operation may include one or more of towing, braking, opening and closing doors, vehicle warning, and vehicle broadcast performed by the second vehicle.

Secondly, the second vehicle sends the synchronous control command to the first vehicle.

And thirdly, the first vehicle receives the synchronous control command sent by the second vehicle and controls the first vehicle to synchronously execute the target vehicle operation according to the synchronous control command.

In this way, unified control of the first and second vehicles in the target train consist is achieved.

Optionally, in some further embodiments of the present disclosure, after the first vehicle has the first vehicle and the second vehicle as vehicles in the target train consist, the first vehicle may disarm the train consist with the second vehicle if one or more of the following conditions are met:

conditions 1 to 1: receiving a manual operation instruction: if the target train formation is only carried out in the automatic driving state, the train formation needs to be released after receiving the manual operation instruction. Of course, if the target train consist can be performed manually, there is no need to release the train consist at this time.

Conditions 1 to 2: and receiving a train formation release instruction sent by the second vehicle, wherein the train formation release instruction is used for instructing the first vehicle to release the train formation with the second vehicle.

Conditions 1 to 3: and receiving a train formation release instruction sent by the train control equipment, wherein the train formation release instruction is used for instructing the first vehicle to release the train formation with the second vehicle.

Conditions 1 to 4: and detecting that the vehicle-to-vehicle communication time delay of the first vehicle and the second vehicle is greater than a second time delay threshold value, wherein the second time delay threshold value and the first time delay threshold value can be the same or different. When the train-to-train communication delay is greater than the second delay threshold, the acquired second inter-vehicle distance is inaccurate due to communication delay and cannot be used for calibrating the first inter-vehicle distance any more, so that train formation can be released based on safety considerations.

Conditions 1 to 5: an interruption of a vehicle-to-vehicle communication connection of a first vehicle with a second vehicle is detected.

Conditions 1 to 6: the difference value between the first vehicle distance and the second vehicle distance is detected to be larger than a third distance threshold value, and the third distance threshold value and the second distance threshold value can be the same or different. When the difference between the first inter-vehicle distance and the second inter-vehicle distance is greater than the second distance threshold, it is determined that the detected first inter-vehicle distance or the detected second inter-vehicle distance is inaccurate, and if the formation operation is continued, a potential safety hazard of vehicle collision occurs.

Conditions 1 to 7: and after receiving the synchronous control instruction sent by the second vehicle, controlling the first vehicle to synchronously execute the target vehicle operation failure. The occurrence of the operation failure of the target vehicle indicates that the first vehicle fails to travel in synchronization with the second vehicle, and the train formation with the second vehicle can be released for safety reasons.

Conditions 1 to 8: and receiving a backward movement instruction sent by the second vehicle. It should be noted that, in the train formation operation process, in order to ensure the safety of the vehicle operation, the vehicle is not allowed to move backwards.

Wherein, in the case where the second vehicle is a leading vehicle of the first vehicle, releasing the train consist with the second vehicle may comprise one or more of the following operations:

release operation 1-1: and sending a train formation release instruction to the second vehicle so that the second vehicle releases the train formation with the first vehicle.

Release operation 1-2: a train set release instruction is transmitted to the train control apparatus so that the train control apparatus transmits the train set release instruction to the second vehicle.

Release operation 1-3: and under the condition that the first vehicle is in a running state, controlling the first vehicle to brake so that the distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle is greater than a preset safety distance. Illustratively, the preset safe distance may be 10 meters or 20 meters. In addition, the braking force applied to the first vehicle needs to be larger than the braking force of the second vehicle so that the distance between the two vehicles increases.

Release operations 1-4: and under the condition that the first vehicle is in a static state, keeping the static state of the first vehicle, waiting for the second vehicle to move forwards, and enabling the first vehicle to enter a normal running state after detecting that the distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle is greater than a preset safety distance. I.e. traction can be applied to the first vehicle.

Optionally, after the first vehicle releases the train formation with the second vehicle, the first vehicle may further acquire first position information of the first vehicle and transmit the first position information to the train control device, so that the train control device controls the first vehicle.

It should be noted that, in the related art, after the train formation is released, the first vehicle needs to perform the downgrading operation, the first position information of the first vehicle is initialized, and the trusted position information can be obtained after calibration. Therefore, the first vehicle can continue to normally operate after the marshalling is removed, and the vehicle operation efficiency is improved.

Similarly, the second vehicle may release the train formation with the first vehicle when one or more of the following conditions are satisfied after the second vehicle has set the first vehicle and the second vehicle as the vehicles in the target train formation:

condition 2-1: receiving a vehicle back-off command: during the train formation operation, since the first vehicle and the second vehicle may collide with each other when the vehicle travels backward due to inertia of the vehicle, the vehicle backward command is not executed during the train formation operation, and after receiving the vehicle backward command, it is necessary to cancel the formation and then execute the backward command.

Conditions 2 to 2: and receiving a manual operation instruction.

Conditions 2 to 3: and receiving a train formation release instruction sent by the first vehicle.

Conditions 2 to 4: and receiving a train formation release instruction sent by the train control equipment.

Conditions 2 to 5: an interruption of a vehicle-to-vehicle communication connection of a first vehicle with a second vehicle is detected.

Wherein the second vehicle disarming the train consist with the first vehicle also comprises one or more of the following operations:

release operation 2-1: and sending a train formation release instruction to the first vehicle.

Release operation 2-2: and sending a train formation release instruction to the train control equipment.

Releasing operation 2-3: and controlling the second vehicle to drive forwards so that the distance between the second vehicle and the first vehicle is greater than the preset safety distance.

Likewise, the second vehicle may also acquire second position information of the second vehicle after releasing the train formation with the first vehicle, and transmit the second position information to the train control apparatus.

The train control device can also actively initiate an operation of releasing the train formation according to the command of the control personnel, and respectively send a train formation releasing command to the first vehicle and the second vehicle, and the first vehicle and the second vehicle can respectively release the train formation after receiving the train formation releasing command.

It should be noted that, for the above method embodiments, for the sake of simplicity, all the method embodiments are described as a series of action combinations, but those skilled in the art should understand that the present disclosure is not limited by the described action sequence, because some steps may be performed in other sequences or simultaneously according to the present disclosure, for example, the step S403 may be performed before the step S404, or may be performed after the step S404; s401 and S405 may be performed simultaneously; s406 and S407 may also be performed simultaneously; s408 and S409 may also be performed simultaneously.

Thus, by adopting the method, when the condition of releasing the train formation is met in the process of the target train formation operation, the train formation can be released, and the independent operation of the first vehicle and the second vehicle is recovered, so that the safety and the reliability of the vehicles in the vehicle formation operation are ensured.

Fig. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a vehicle grouping apparatus 500 according to an exemplary embodiment. Referring to fig. 5, the vehicle grouping apparatus includes a processor 522, which may be one or more in number, and a memory 532 for storing computer programs executable by the processor 522. The computer programs stored in memory 532 may include one or more modules that each correspond to a set of instructions. Further, the processor 522 may be configured to execute the computer program to perform the vehicle grouping method described above.

Additionally, the vehicle grouping apparatus may also include a power component 526 and a communication component 550, the power component 526 may be configured to perform power management of the vehicle grouping apparatus, and the communication component 550 may be configured to enable communication, e.g., wired or wireless communication, of the vehicle grouping apparatus. Additionally, the vehicle grouping apparatus may also include an input/output (I/O) interface 558. The vehicle grouping apparatus may operate based on an operating system stored in memory 532, such as Windows Server, Mac OS X, Unix, Linux, Android, and the like.

In another exemplary embodiment, a computer readable storage medium comprising program instructions which, when executed by a processor, implement the steps of the above-described method of vehicle grouping is also provided. For example, the computer readable storage medium may be the memory 532 described above including program instructions that are executable by the processor 522 of the vehicle grouping apparatus to perform the method of vehicle grouping described above.

In another exemplary embodiment, a computer program product is also provided, which comprises a computer program executable by a programmable apparatus, the computer program having code portions for performing the above-described method of vehicle grouping when executed by the programmable apparatus.

Fig. 6 is a vehicle that may include any of the vehicle marshalling apparatuses described above provided by the present disclosure.

The preferred embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, however, the present disclosure is not limited to the specific details of the above embodiments, and various simple modifications may be made to the technical solution of the present disclosure within the technical idea of the present disclosure, and these simple modifications all belong to the protection scope of the present disclosure.

It should be noted that the various features described in the above embodiments may be combined in any suitable manner without departing from the scope of the invention. In order to avoid unnecessary repetition, various possible combinations will not be separately described in this disclosure.

In addition, any combination of various embodiments of the present disclosure may be made, and the same should be considered as the disclosure of the present disclosure as long as it does not depart from the gist of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A method of grouping vehicles for use with a first vehicle, the method comprising:

detecting a first vehicle separation distance from the second vehicle;

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, after the difference between the first vehicle separation distance and the second vehicle separation distance is less than or equal to a first distance threshold:

controlling the first vehicle to travel to shorten a first inter-vehicle distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle;

and periodically detecting a first vehicle distance from the second vehicle, and executing the step of taking the first vehicle and the second vehicle as vehicles in a target train formation under the condition that the detected first vehicle distances in a continuous preset number of periods are less than or equal to a preset formation distance.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

continuously receiving a second vehicle interval sent by the second vehicle periodically in the process of periodically detecting the first vehicle interval with the second vehicle;

stopping the grouping of the first vehicle and the second vehicle if a difference between the second vehicle separation distance and the first vehicle separation distance is greater than a second distance threshold.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the controlling the first vehicle to travel to shorten a first inter-vehicle distance of the first vehicle from the second vehicle comprises:

receiving a first control command sent by the second vehicle, wherein the first control command comprises traction force or braking force of the second vehicle;

and controlling the first vehicle to run according to the traction force or the braking force of the second vehicle so as to shorten the first vehicle distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein controlling the first vehicle to travel according to the tractive effort or braking effort of the second vehicle if the second vehicle is a leading vehicle of the first vehicle comprises:

increasing the traction of the first vehicle if the traction of the second vehicle is greater than or equal to the traction of the first vehicle; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

maintaining the tractive effort of the first vehicle in the event that the tractive effort of the second vehicle is less than the tractive effort of the first vehicle; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

reducing the braking force of the first vehicle in a case where the braking force of the second vehicle is less than or equal to the braking force of the first vehicle; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

maintaining or increasing the braking force of the first vehicle in a case where the braking force of the second vehicle is greater than the braking force of the first vehicle.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the train consist control instructions include a first target vehicle identification and a second target vehicle identification to be consist, the method further comprising, prior to said controlling the first vehicle and the second vehicle to consist:

determining whether a first vehicle identification of the first vehicle is the first target vehicle identification;

determining candidate vehicles according to the train formation control command;

performing vehicle identification verification on the candidate vehicle to determine whether the vehicle identification of the candidate vehicle is the second target vehicle identification;

in a case where it is determined that the first vehicle identification of the first vehicle is the first target vehicle identification and the vehicle identification of the candidate vehicle is the second target vehicle identification, the step of controlling the first vehicle and the second vehicle to be grouped is performed with the candidate vehicle as the second vehicle.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein after determining a second vehicle to be consist according to the train consist control instructions, the method further comprises:

carrying out system self-check, and determining whether the first vehicle is in a safe running state according to a system self-check result;

the step of controlling the first vehicle and the second vehicle to make a group is performed in a case where the first vehicle is in a safe running state.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein after determining a second vehicle to be consist according to the train consist control instructions, the method further comprises:

detecting a vehicle-to-vehicle communication time delay of the first vehicle and the second vehicle;

the step of controlling the first vehicle and the second vehicle to make a group is performed in a case where the vehicle-to-vehicle communication time delay is less than or equal to a first time delay threshold value.

9. The method of claim 2, wherein after the first vehicle and the second vehicle are considered to be vehicles in a target train consist, the method further comprises:

transmitting a train consist complete command to the second vehicle; and/or

And sending a train formation completion instruction to the train control equipment.

10. The method of claim 2, wherein after the first vehicle and the second vehicle are considered to be vehicles in a target train consist, the method further comprises:

receiving a synchronous control instruction sent by the second vehicle, wherein the synchronous control instruction comprises a target vehicle operation executed by the second vehicle;

and synchronously executing the target vehicle operation according to the synchronous control instruction.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein after the first vehicle and the second vehicle are considered vehicles in a target train consist, the method further comprises:

releasing the train consist with the second vehicle if one or more of the following conditions are met:

receiving a manual operation instruction;

receiving a train formation release instruction sent by the second vehicle;

receiving a train formation release instruction sent by the train control equipment;

detecting that a time delay of vehicle-to-vehicle communication between the first vehicle and the second vehicle is greater than a second time delay threshold;

detecting an interruption in a vehicle-to-vehicle communication connection of the first vehicle with the second vehicle;

detecting that a difference between the first vehicle separation distance and the second vehicle separation distance is greater than a third distance threshold;

after the synchronous control instruction sent by the second vehicle is received, the operation of the target vehicle is failed to be executed;

and receiving a back-off instruction sent by the second vehicle.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the de-marshalling with the second vehicle, if the second vehicle is a lead of the first vehicle, comprises one or more of:

under the condition that the first vehicle is in a running state, controlling the first vehicle to brake so that the distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle is larger than a preset safety distance;

under the condition that the first vehicle is in a static state, keeping the braking state of the first vehicle until the first vehicle enters a normal running state after the first vehicle is detected to be more than a preset safety distance away from the second vehicle;

transmitting a train set release instruction to the second vehicle in order for the second vehicle to release the train set with the first vehicle;

transmitting a train formation release instruction to the train control device so that the train control device transmits the train formation release instruction to the second vehicle.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein after said de-marshalling the train with the second vehicle, the method further comprises:

and sending the first position information of the first vehicle to train control equipment so that the train control equipment can control the first vehicle.

14. A method of vehicle grouping for application to a second vehicle, the method comprising:

15. The method of claim 14, wherein after receiving a train consist control command sent by a train control device, the method further comprises:

the execution of the fallback operation is prohibited.

16. A vehicle grouping apparatus characterized by comprising:

a memory having a computer program stored thereon;

a processor for executing the computer program in the memory to carry out the steps of the method of any one of claims 1 to 13.

17. A vehicle grouping apparatus characterized by comprising:

a memory having a computer program stored thereon;

a processor for executing the computer program in the memory to carry out the steps of the method of any one of claims 14 to 15.

18. A vehicle grouping system, characterized in that the system comprises: train control equipment, first vehicle and second vehicle, wherein:

the first vehicle comprising the vehicle grouping assembly of claim 16;

the second vehicle includes the vehicle grouping apparatus of claim 17 above.

19. The system of claim 18, further comprising:

the collision buffer assembly is arranged at the joint of the first vehicle and the second vehicle and used for buffering the impact force generated when the first vehicle and the second vehicle collide.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the crash cushion assembly comprises a semi-permanent tow bar.

21. A vehicle comprising a vehicle grouping apparatus as claimed in claim 16 or comprising a vehicle grouping apparatus as claimed in claim 17.

22. A computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored which, when being executed by a processor, carries out the steps of the method of any one of claims 1 to 13 or which, when being executed by a processor, carries out the steps of the method of any one of claims 14 to 16.