CN116001746A - Autonomous vehicle with redundant braking system - Google Patents

Abstract

The disclosure provides an autonomous vehicle with a redundant braking system, and relates to the technical field of autonomous driving. The specific implementation scheme is as follows: the autonomous vehicle includes: a vehicle body, a pedal braking system, and a redundant braking system. The pedal braking system is arranged on the vehicle body and comprises a braking pedal and a pedal arm; the pedal arm is connected with a brake pedal. The redundant braking system comprises a driving device and a swing arm; the driving device is arranged on the vehicle body, connected with the swing arm and configured to drive the swing arm to rotate. Wherein the swing arm is positioned at one side of the pedal arm; the pedal arm can move to a final position from an initial position to a direction away from the swing arm along with the increase of the stepping amount on the brake pedal; in the case where the brake pedal is not depressed, the swing arm can press the pedal arm by rotating, so that the pedal arm moves from the initial position to the final position.

Description

Autonomous vehicle with redundant braking system

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of autopilot technology, and in particular, to an autopilot vehicle with redundant braking systems.

Background

Unmanned vehicles are typically braked by a brake-by-wire system (also known as a brake-by-wire chassis system). Under the condition that the brake-by-wire system has faults or failures, the brake effect of the brake-by-wire system on the unmanned automobile is poor or disappears; the unmanned car may cause a safety accident when running on the road.

Disclosure of Invention

Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide an autonomous vehicle with a redundant braking system. The autonomous vehicle includes: a vehicle body, a pedal braking system, and a redundant braking system. The pedal braking system is arranged on the vehicle body; the pedal braking system includes a brake pedal and a pedal arm connected to the brake pedal. The redundant braking system comprises a driving device and a swing arm; the driving device is arranged on the vehicle body, connected with the swing arm and configured to drive the swing arm to rotate. Wherein the swing arm is positioned above the pedal arm; the pedal arm can move to a final position from an initial position to a direction away from the swing arm along with the increase of the stepping amount on the brake pedal; in the case where the brake pedal is not depressed, the swing arm can press the pedal arm by rotating, so that the pedal arm moves from the initial position to the final position.

In this embodiment, the swing arm is located on one side of the pedal arm; when a driver steps on the brake pedal, the pedal arm can move in a direction away from the swing arm, namely the pedal arm and the swing arm can be separated (also can be said that the pedal arm is in decoupling connection with the swing arm); thus, the swing arm does not obstruct the movement of the pedal arm, so that the driver is not influenced to tread the brake pedal, and the driver can comfortably drive the automatic driving vehicle. In addition, for example, if the automatic driving vehicle needs to be braked in the unmanned process, the driver does not need to tread a brake pedal at the moment, and the brake of the automatic driving vehicle can be realized by contacting and pressing the pedal arm through the redundant brake system. And, since the redundant brake system applies pressure directly to the pedal arm, not to the pedal; therefore, even if the redundant brake system is not operated, the driver is not prevented from stepping on the brake pedal.

It should be understood that the description in this section is not intended to identify key or critical features of the embodiments of the disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following specification.

Drawings

The drawings are for a better understanding of the present solution and are not to be construed as limiting the present disclosure. Wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an autonomous vehicle provided with a redundant braking system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is an internal block diagram of an autonomous vehicle provided with a redundant braking system according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a pedal braking system according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is an internal structural view of an autonomous vehicle according to the related art of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is another internal block diagram of an autonomous vehicle provided with a redundant braking system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of a redundant braking system provided according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of a redundant braking system and pedal braking system provided in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is another schematic illustration of a redundant braking system and pedal braking system provided in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a drive device provided in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of a drive mechanism provided in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a schematic illustration of a swing arm provided in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 12 is a control schematic of a redundant braking system provided according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which include various details of the embodiments of the present disclosure to facilitate understanding, and should be considered as merely exemplary. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Also, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions are omitted in the following description for clarity and conciseness.

The terms "first," "second," and the like, are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defining "a first" or "a second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more such feature. In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise indicated, the meaning of "a plurality" is two or more.

In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless explicitly specified and limited otherwise, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" are to be construed broadly, and may be either fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally connected, for example; the specific meaning of the above terms in the present invention will be understood in specific cases by those of ordinary skill in the art.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an autonomous vehicle with redundant braking systems. Illustratively, the autonomous vehicle may be a passenger car, truck, sport Utility Vehicle (SUV), recreational Vehicle (RV), sedan, and the like. The automated guided vehicle is not limited to an automobile, and may be a motorcycle or the like.

Referring to fig. 1, an autonomous vehicle may include a vehicle body 10; body 10 may include chassis 120 and body 110, body 110 being mounted on chassis 120. The autonomous vehicle may also include wheels 20 (which may include, for example, front and rear wheels), the wheels 20 being rotatably coupled to the vehicle body 10 (or chassis 120).

Referring to fig. 2, the vehicle body 10 has a cab 130. The autonomous vehicle further includes a steering wheel 40 and a plurality of seats 30 mounted within the cab. Among them, the seat 30 to which the steering wheel 40 is facing is referred to as a main seat 310; the other seats 30 are referred to as secondary seats 320.

With continued reference to FIG. 2, the autonomous vehicle further includes a pedal braking system 50, the pedal braking system 50 being disposed on the vehicle body 10 shown in FIG. 1; for example, the pedal braking system 50 is disposed on the chassis 120. The pedal braking system 50 may include a brake pedal 510 and a pedal arm 520. The pedal arm 520 is connected to the brake pedal 510; for example, pedal arm 520 is fixedly coupled to brake pedal 510. In some examples, pedal arm 520 is rotatably disposed on vehicle body 10.

Referring to fig. 3, the pedal braking system 50 may further include a braking force generating device 530 (e.g., may include a master cylinder). The braking force generating device 530 is provided on the vehicle body 10 in the vicinity of the wheels 20; the braking force generating device 530 is connected to the pedal arm 520. According to the stepping amount of stepping on the brake pedal 510, the braking force generating device 530 is caused to generate a corresponding braking force; the braking force acts on the wheels 20 such that the autonomous vehicle brakes.

When the driver does not step on the brake pedal 510, that is, when the stepping amount of the brake pedal 510 is zero, the position where the pedal arm 520 is located is referred to as the initial position, and the braking force generated by the braking force generating device 530 is also zero, so that the rotational speed of the wheels 20 is not affected. As the amount of depression of the brake pedal 510 increases, the pedal arm 520 starts to move from the initial position, so that the braking force generated by the braking force generating device 530 increases and the rotational speed of the wheels 20 decreases. As the amount of depression of the brake pedal 510 continues to increase, the position at which the pedal arm 520 is located is no longer changed, and the position at which the pedal arm 520 is located is referred to as the end position.

In the related art, referring to fig. 4, the autonomous vehicle further includes a robot arm pushrod 60. The robotic arm pushrod 60 is relatively bulky and is typically mounted near the primary drive seat 310. The arm pushrod 60 is connected to a brake pedal 510. In operation, the arm push rod 60 extends in the direction of the vehicle head, and by simulating the action of the driver, the brake pedal 510 is pressed, thereby realizing the braking of the autonomous vehicle.

However, when the driver drives the autonomous vehicle, the large arm push rod 60 may make the leg of the driver less comfortable to place, affecting the driver's stepping on the brake pedal 510. In addition, the arm push rod 60 is connected to the brake pedal 510, which may interfere with the driver's stepping on the brake pedal 510.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, referring to fig. 5, the autonomous vehicle further includes a redundant braking system 70.

Referring to fig. 5 and 6, the redundant brake system 70 includes a drive 710 and a swing arm 720. The driving device 710 is connected to the swing arm 720 and configured to drive the swing arm 720 to rotate. That is, the driving device 710 can drive the swing arm 720 to rotate.

The driving device 710 is provided on the vehicle body 10. Among them, the surface of the vehicle body 10 on which the driving device is mounted may be referred to as a bearing surface M1. In some examples, in the cab 130, the bearing surface M1 is located on a door side of the pedal braking system 50 away from the main driver's seat in the width direction of the vehicle body 10; at this time, the bearing surface M1 may be located at the rear side or below the automated driving vehicle console. For example, if the primary drive seat 310 is located on the left side of the autonomous vehicle, the bearing surface may be located on the right side of the pedal braking system 50. In other examples, in the cab 130, the bearing surface M1 is located on the door side of the pedal braking system 50 near the main driver's seat in the width direction of the vehicle body 10. For example, if the primary drive seat 310 is located on the left side of the autonomous vehicle, the bearing surface may be located on the left side of the pedal braking system 50. In still other examples, the bearing surface M1 may be a lower surface within the cab 130. Herein, "up" and "down" are defined in terms of the direction of gravity; "up" is the direction away from the ground and "down" is the direction closer to the ground.

Referring to fig. 8 and 9, the swing arm 720 is located at one side of the pedal arm 520; means: the portion of the swing arm 720 that can contact the pedal arm 520 is located on one side of the pedal arm 520. For example, swing arm 720 is located above pedal arm 520. Specifically, a portion of the swing arm 720 that can contact the pedal arm 520 is located above the pedal arm 520. The position of the other parts of the swing arm 720 is not limited, and may be, for example, on the left or right side of the pedal arm 520. As another example, the portion of the swing arm 720 that can contact the pedal arm 520 is located behind the pedal arm 520, i.e., on the side of the pedal arm 520 that is closer to the main seat 310.

The pedal arm 520 can move from the initial position 520a to the final position 520b in a direction away from the swing arm 720 as the amount of depression of the brake pedal 510 increases. It is understood that, for example, when the driver depresses the brake pedal 510, as the driver increases the amount of depression of the brake pedal 510, the pedal arm 520 moves from the initial position 520a to the end position 520b, and braking of the automatically driven vehicle is achieved. However, during the movement of the pedal arm 520 from the initial position 520a to the final position 520b, the position of the swing arm 720 is unchanged (i.e., the swing arm 720 is located above the pedal arm 520 with the distance between the two gradually increasing), and the swing arm 720 and the pedal arm 520 may be in a separated state.

In this way, in comparison with the related art, in the present embodiment, the redundant brake system 70 (the swing arm 720 and the driving device 710) does not affect the driver's depression of the brake pedal 510 when the driver depresses the brake pedal 510, so that the driver can comfortably drive the automobile. In addition, since the redundant brake system 70 applies pressure directly to the pedal arm 520, it does not apply to the pedal 510; therefore, even if the redundant brake system 70 is in operation, the driver is not prevented from depressing the brake pedal 510.

In the case where the brake pedal 510 is not depressed, the swing arm 720 can press the pedal arm 520 by rotating, so that the pedal arm 520 moves from the initial position 520a to the final position 520b. It can be understood that, in the case that the driver does not step on the brake pedal 510, the driving device 710 may drive the swing arm 720 to rotate; as the driving device 710 continues to rotate the swing arm 720, the swing arm 720 contacts the pedal arm 520 and presses the pedal arm 520, so that the pedal arm 520 moves from the initial position 520a to the final position 520b. Wherein during the movement of the pedal arm 520 from the initial position 520a to the final position 520b, the pedal arm 520 is always in contact with the brake pedal 510 with an interaction force therebetween. In this way, braking of the autonomous vehicle may be achieved without the driver having to depress the brake pedal 510, i.e., through the cooperation of the redundant brake system 70 and the pedal brake system 50.

In some examples, referring to fig. 8, with the pedal arm 520 in the initial position 520a, the pedal arm 520 is in contact with the swing arm 720. This contact is understood to be the absence of interaction between swing arm 720 and pedal arm 520; alternatively, there is less force between swing arm 720 and pedal arm 520 that is insufficient to change the position of pedal arm 520. In other examples, the pedal arm 520 is separated from the swing arm 720 with the pedal arm 520 in the home position 520 a.

In some embodiments, reference is continued to fig. 7 and 8. The pedal arm 520 is rotatably connected to the vehicle body 10. For example, one end of the pedal arm 520 is hinged to the vehicle body 10, for example, to a brake pedal bracket; the other end is connected to a brake pedal 510. The corresponding angle of rotation of the pedal arm 520 at the initial position 520a may be noted as 0 degrees and the corresponding angle of rotation at the final position 520b may be Smax.

On this basis, the rotation axis of the swing arm 720 is parallel to the rotation axis of the pedal arm 520. Thus, the swing arm 720 presses the pedal arm 520 with less effort. For example, the rotation axis of the swing arm 720 and the rotation axis of the pedal arm 520 are distributed along the width direction of the vehicle body 10.

Referring to fig. 9, the driving device 710 includes a housing 711 and a driving mechanism 712 provided in the housing 711. The length, width and height of the housing 711 are each in a range of 90mm to 120mm, and may be, for example, 90mm, 95mm, 100mm, 105mm, 110mm, 115mm, 120mm, or the like. The arrangement may facilitate installation of the drive device 710 while also providing a dust-proof effect on the drive mechanism 712.

The drive mechanism 712 includes a motor 7121, a first speed reducer 7122, and a second speed reducer 7123.

The motor 7121 has a first output rotation speed. In some examples, the motor 7121 has a mounting portion D1 and a rotation shaft D2, and the rotation shaft D2 is rotatable with respect to the mounting portion D1. The mounting portion D1 is provided in the housing 711; the rotation shaft D2 has a first output rotation speed. The first output rotation speed may be understood as the rotation speed of the rotation shaft D2 when the motor 7121 is stably operated; it is also understood that the rotational speed of the shaft D2 is the rotational speed of the motor 7121 when operating at rated power. In some examples, the motor 7121 may be a forward and reverse motor 7121, or may be a unidirectional rotating motor 7121.

The first speed reducer 7122 is connected with the motor 7121; for example, the first speed reducer 7122 is connected to the rotation shaft D2 of the motor 7121. The first speed reducer 7122 is configured to reduce the first output rotation speed to the second output rotation speed.

Illustratively, the first reducer 7122 includes a first gear J1 and a second gear J2. The first gear J1 is fixedly connected with the rotating shaft D2. Thus, the rotation shaft D2 of the motor 7121 drives the first gear J1 to rotate, and the rotation speed of the first gear J1 is the first output rotation speed. The second gear J2 is meshed with the first gear J1, and the first gear J1 drives the second gear J2 to rotate. Since the number of teeth of the first gear J1 is smaller than the number of teeth of the second gear J2 (i.e., the transmission ratio of the first gear J1 to the second gear J2 is smaller than 1); so that the rotation speed of the first rotation speed output to the second gear J2 of the first gear J1 is reduced to the second output rotation speed.

The second speed reducer 7123 is connected to the first speed reducer 7122 and is configured to reduce the second output rotation speed to the third output rotation speed. The second speed reducer 7123 is configured to drive the swing arm 720 to rotate, and the rotation speed of the swing arm 720 is less than or equal to the third output rotation speed. In this way, a two-stage speed reduction is formed by the combination of the first speed reducer 7122 and the second speed reducer 7123, so that the motor 7121 (or the rotating shaft D2) drives the swing arm 720 to rotate through the first speed reducer 7122 and the second speed reducer 7123, so that the rotating speed of the swing arm 720 is smaller, the torque is larger, and the swing arm 720 can press the pedal arm 520 more easily.

Illustratively, the second reducer 7123 includes a worm J3 and a worm wheel J4; the second reduction gear 7123 may be referred to as a worm wheel J4 worm J3 group at this time. The worm J3 is connected with the first speed reducer 7122; for example, the second gear J2 is connected to the worm J3. In this way, the second gear J2 drives the worm J3 to rotate, and the rotation speed of the worm J3 is the second output rotation speed. The worm wheel J4 is meshed with the worm J3, so that the worm J3 drives the worm wheel J4 to rotate; the rotation speed of the worm J3 output to the turbine J4 is reduced to the third output rotation speed. The worm J3 is rotatably connected to the housing 711, so that the second gear J2 and the worm J3 are integrally rotated with respect to the housing 711. The worm J3 is rotatably connected to the housing 711. The gear ratio of the worm J3 to the turbine J4 is smaller than 1. For example, it may be less than or equal to 1:10, such as may be 1:15,1:20,1:22,1:26, etc.

Turbine J4 may rotate swing arm 720. Specifically, the turbine J4 and the swing arm 720 may be directly connected, or may be indirectly connected.

In some examples, in the case that there is no other speed reducer between the second speed reducer 7123 and the swing arm 720, the second speed reducer 7123 is connected to the swing arm 720, and then the turbine J4 drives the swing arm 720 to rotate, and at this time, the rotation speed of the swing arm 720 is the rotation speed of the turbine J4, that is, the third output rotation speed.

In other examples, in the case that there are other decelerators between the second decelerator 7123 and the swing arm 720, the second decelerator 7123 is connected to the swing arm 720 through the other decelerators, and then the turbine J4 drives the other decelerators to rotate, and the other decelerators drive the swing arm 720 to rotate. Since the other decelerator has the ability to decelerate, the rotation speed of the swing arm 720 is smaller than the third output rotation speed of the turbine J4 at this time.

In some examples, when the second output rotation speed of the first speed reducer 7122 is zero, it may be understood that the rotation speed of the motor 7121 (or the rotation shaft D2) is zero, for example, when the motor 7121 stops operating, at which time the state of the second speed reducer 7123 is locked. In this way, the second speed reducer 7123 has a self-locking function. That is, as long as the motor 7121 is not started, the first speed reducer 7122, the second speed reducer 7123 and the swing arm 720 are not rotated, and the self-locking function of the second speed reducer 7123 is utilized so that the second speed reducer 7123 is not reworked, thereby changing the position of the swing arm 720 in the case that the motor 7121 is not rotated. The position of the swing arm 720 is not changed due to jolting or the like of the autonomous vehicle.

When the swing arm 720 and the pedal arm 520 are separated, the swing arm 720 and the pedal arm 520 are in a separated state (namely, the position of the swing arm 720 is not changed) by utilizing the self-locking function of the second deceleration; when the autonomous vehicle jolts or shakes, the swing arm 720 does not press the pedal arm 520, so that the autonomous vehicle is not braked, and the running state of the autonomous vehicle is not affected.

When the swing arm 720 contacts with the pedal arm 520 and presses the pedal arm 520, the swing arm 720 can be stably pressed on the pedal arm 520 (namely, the position of the pedal arm 520 is not changed) by utilizing the self-locking function of the second deceleration; when the autonomous vehicle jolts or shakes, the pressing degree of the swing arm 720 against the pedal arm 520 is not changed, so that the braking force generated by the braking force generating device 530 is not changed, and the running state of the autonomous vehicle in the current running state is not changed.

In one possible implementation manner, the worm J3 may be a single-head worm J3, so that when the single-head worm J3 stops rotating, the worm wheel applies a reverse sliding force to the single-head worm J3, and the single-head worm J3 cannot be reversely rotated, thereby realizing self-locking.

In this way, the combination of the single-head worm J3 and the turbine J4 is adopted, so that not only is the aim of reducing speed realized, but also self-locking can be realized. In the case where the motor 7121 does not rotate, the single-ended worm J3 does not reverse, i.e., the single-ended worm J3 and the worm wheel J4 can have a self-locking function, so that the position of the swing arm 720 does not change.

In some embodiments, the second decelerator 7123 and the mounting portion D1 are located on the same side of the first decelerator 7122. By doing so, the arrangement of the second speed reducer 7123 and the mounting portion D1 is made more compact, thereby reducing the volume of the housing 711.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 10, drive mechanism 712 also includes other decelerators, such as third decelerator 7124.

The third speed reducer 7124 is connected to the second speed reducer 7123, and is configured to reduce the third output rotation speed to the fourth output rotation speed. The third speed reducer 7124 is configured to drive the swing arm 720 to rotate, and the rotation speed of the swing arm 720 is less than or equal to the fourth output rotation speed. In this way, the motor 7121 can select a motor 7121 with high rotation speed and high torque; the motor 7121 in this embodiment is low cost relative to the motor 7121 of low rotation speed and large torque.

The third reduction gear 7124 includes an inner ring gear, a sun gear J5, a carrier J7, and a plurality of planet gears J6, for example, in which case the third reduction gear 7124 may be referred to as a planetary gear set. The sun gear J5 is fixedly connected with the second reduction gear 7123. For example, the sun gear J5 is connected to the turbine J4, and then the turbine J4 drives the sun gear J5 to rotate, and the rotation speed of the sun gear J5 is the third output rotation. The planet gears J6 are disposed between the sun gear J5 and the ring gear, and are engaged with both the sun gear J5 and the ring gear, which is fixedly connected with the housing 711. In this way, the planet wheel J6 rotates around the planet wheel J5 and the inner gear ring under the drive of the sun wheel J5, so that the rotation speed of the third output rotation speed of the sun wheel J5 transmitted to the planet wheel J6 is reduced to the fourth output rotation speed. The planet carrier J7 is fixedly connected with a plurality of planet gears J6; the planet carrier J7 is connected to the swing arm 720. So that the rotational speeds of the planet wheel J6, the planet carrier J7 and the swing arm 720 are all the fourth output rotational speeds. Wherein the rotation axis of the planet carrier J7 coincides with the rotation axis of the sun gear J5.

The planetary gear set has small volume and can reduce speed, so that the redundant brake system 70 has three-stage speed reduction function, and the planetary gear set also occupies small volume of the housing 711.

In some embodiments, the reduction ratio of the first decelerator may be less than or equal to 1:2. The reduction ratio of the second reduction machine may be smaller than that of the first reduction gear; for example, may be less than or equal to 1:10. The reduction ratio of the third reduction machine may be smaller than that of the first reduction gear, and furthermore, the reduction ratio of the third reduction machine may be larger than that of the second reduction machine; for example, it may be greater than 1:2 and less than or equal to 1:10.

In some examples, the overall reduction ratio of the drive device is 1:220. For example, the reduction ratio of the first speed reducer is 1:2; the reduction ratio of the second reduction machine is 1:22; the reduction ratio of the third reduction machine is 1:5.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 11, swing arm 720 includes an arm 722 and a rotator 721.

The arm 722 is connected to the driving device 710. For example, the arm 722 is connected to the second reduction gear 7123 (or the turbine J4). For example, the arm 722 is connected to a third reduction gear 7124 (or a carrier J7). Such that the arm 722 can be rotated by the driving means 710.

In some examples, the arm 722 includes a first portion 7221 and a second portion 7222 fixedly connected, wherein the first portion 7221 is connected to the drive device 710. The longitudinal direction of the first portion 7221 intersects the longitudinal direction of the second portion 7222, and the longitudinal direction of the second portion 7222 is parallel to the rotation axis of the driving device 710.

The rotating member 721 has a mounting channel 7211; the rotation member 721 may be a tub-like structure, and the through hole of the tub-like structure may be the mounting channel 7211.

The arm 722 passes through the mounting channel 7211 and is rotatably connected to the rotating member 721; in the case where the swing arm 720 presses the pedal arm 520, the rotator 721 contacts the pedal arm 520. Thus, when the driving device 710 drives the arm 722 to rotate, the rotating member 721 rotates along with the arm 722; the rotation member 721 also rolls on the pedal arm 520, thereby reducing friction between the rotation member 721 and the pedal arm 520.

In some examples, the second portion 7222 is rotatably coupled to the rotating member 721 through the mounting channel 7211.

In some examples, the arm 722 is disposed in the mounting channel 7211 by a bearing set ZC. The bearing set ZC may include a pair of planar bearings and a pair of thrust roller bearings. A pair of planar bearings is positioned between the pair of thrust roller bearings. In other examples, there may be a gap between the arm 722 and the mounting channel 7211 such that the rotating member 721 may rotate on the arm 722. In order to prevent the rotation member 721 from slipping off the arm body 722, positioning members are provided at both ends of the rotation member 721, and the positioning members are connected to the arm body 722 such that the rotation member 721 rotates on the arm body 722 between the two positioning members.

The rotation axis of the rotation member 721 is parallel to the rotation axis of the arm 722.

In some embodiments, the dimension of the rotor 721 is greater than the dimension of the pedal arm 520 (specifically, the dimension of the portion of the pedal arm 520 in contact with the rotor 721 in the rotational axis direction of the rotor 721) along the rotational axis direction of the rotor 721. Thus, the rotation member 721 can be prevented from falling off the pedal arm 520.

In some embodiments, swing arm 720 has a first end and a second end. The two ends of the swing arm 720 in the extending direction thereof are referred to herein as a first end and a second end, respectively. For example, the end of the first portion 7221 to which the drive mechanism 712 is coupled is referred to as a first end, and the end of the first portion 7221 and the second portion 7222 to which it is not coupled is referred to as a second end. Wherein the drive mechanism 712 is coupled to the first end; the housing 711 is located on a side of the first end remote from the second end. Thus, the housing 711 does not block the swing arm 720 from rotating, so that the swing arm 720 has a large space to press the pedal arm 520.

In some embodiments, an autonomous vehicle (which may also be referred to as an unmanned car) is a so-called four-level or five-level automated system. A four-level system represents "highly automated", meaning that the autopilot system performs for a particular driving mode of all aspects of the dynamic driving task (driving mode-specific performance), even if the driver does not respond appropriately to a request to intervene. Five-level systems represent "fully automated," meaning that the automated driving system performs full-time performance (full-time performance) for all aspects of the dynamic driving task under all road and environmental conditions.

Referring to fig. 12, the autonomous vehicle further includes a control system 80. The control system 80 is configured to send a start command to the drive device 710 in response to receiving a brake failure signal, causing the drive device 710 to start. In some embodiments, the autonomous vehicle further comprises a brake-by-wire system. The brake-by-wire system is provided on the vehicle body 10, and is a brake system other than the pedal brake system 50 and the redundant brake system 70 for braking the autonomous vehicle. Upon failure of the brake-by-wire system, the control system may receive a brake failure signal sent by the brake-by-wire system to activate the drive 710.

Illustratively, the control system 80 may be mounted within a housing of the drive device 710. Also for example, the control system 80 may be mounted outside of the housing of the drive device 710 in electrical communication with the drive device 710.

By way of example, the control system 80 may read a computer program stored in a memory to perform various suitable actions and processes. In the memory, various programs and data required for the operation of the control system 80 may also be stored. The memory may be integrated into the control system 80 or may be external to the control system 80 and electrically connected to the memory.

When the unmanned automatic driving vehicle runs, and the brake-by-wire system fails, the swing arm 720 of the redundant brake system 70 can press the pedal arm 520 of the pedal brake system 50, so that the pedal brake system 50 brakes the unmanned automatic driving vehicle. Specifically, the driving device 710 drives the swing arm 720 to rotate, so that the swing arm 720 contacts with the pedal arm 520, and presses the pedal arm 520, so that the pedal braking system 50 brakes the unmanned vehicle; thereby avoiding safety accidents.

In the technical scheme of the disclosure, the related processes of collecting, storing, using, processing, transmitting, providing, disclosing and the like of the personal information of the user accord with the regulations of related laws and regulations, and the public order colloquial is not violated.

The above detailed description should not be taken as limiting the scope of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alternatives are possible, depending on design requirements and other factors. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present disclosure are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims (14)

1. An autonomous vehicle having a redundant braking system, comprising:

a vehicle body;

a pedal braking system disposed on the vehicle body; the pedal braking system comprises a braking pedal and a pedal arm, wherein the pedal arm is connected with the braking pedal;

the redundant braking system comprises a driving device and a swing arm; the driving device is arranged on the vehicle body, connected with the swing arm and configured to drive the swing arm to rotate;

wherein the swing arm is positioned at one side of the pedal arm; the pedal arm can move from an initial position to a final position in a direction away from the swing arm along with the increase of the stepping amount on the brake pedal; in the case where the brake pedal is not depressed, the swing arm can press the pedal arm by rotating, so that the pedal arm moves from the initial position to the end position.

2. The autonomous vehicle having a redundant brake system of claim 1,

the pedal arm is in contact with the swing arm with the pedal arm in the initial position.

3. The autonomous vehicle having a redundant brake system of claim 1,

the pedal arm is rotationally connected with the vehicle body; the rotation axis of the swing arm is parallel to the rotation axis of the pedal arm.

4. The autonomous vehicle having a redundant brake system of claim 1,

the swing arm has a first end and a second end;

the driving device comprises a shell and a driving mechanism; the shell is arranged on the vehicle body; the driving mechanism is arranged in the shell;

wherein the driving mechanism is connected with the first end; the housing is located on a side of the first end remote from the second end.

5. The autonomous vehicle having a redundant braking system of claim 1, wherein the swing arm comprises:

the arm body is connected with the driving device and can rotate under the driving of the driving device; the method comprises the steps of,

a rotating member having a mounting channel;

the arm body penetrates through the mounting channel and is rotationally connected with the rotating piece; the rotation axis of the rotating piece is parallel to the rotation axis of the arm body;

the rotating member is in contact with the pedal arm with the swing arm pressing the pedal arm.

6. The autonomous vehicle having a redundant brake system of claim 1,

the dimension of the rotating member is larger than the dimension of the pedal arm along the rotating shaft of the rotating member.

7. The autonomous vehicle having a redundant brake system according to any one of claims 1 to 6,

the driving device includes: a housing and a drive mechanism disposed within the housing; wherein, the actuating mechanism includes:

a motor having a first output rotational speed;

a first speed reducer connected to the motor and configured to reduce the first output rotation speed to a second output rotation speed; the method comprises the steps of,

a second speed reducer connected to the first speed reducer and configured to reduce the second output rotation speed to a third output rotation speed;

the second speed reducer is configured to drive the swing arm to rotate, and the rotating speed of the swing arm is smaller than or equal to the third output rotating speed.

8. The autonomous vehicle having a redundant brake system of claim 7,

when the second output rotation speed of the first speed reducer is zero, the state of the second speed reducer is locked.

9. The autonomous vehicle having a redundant brake system of claim 7,

the motor is provided with a mounting part and a rotating shaft, and the rotating shaft can rotate relative to the mounting part; the mounting part is arranged in the shell; the rotating shaft is connected with a second speed reducer;

the second speed reducer and the mounting portion are located on the same side of the first speed reducer.

10. The autonomous vehicle having a redundant braking system of claim 7, wherein the first retarder comprises:

the first gear is connected with the motor;

the second gear is meshed with the first gear, and the number of teeth of the first gear is smaller than that of the second gear; the second gear is connected with the second speed reducer.

11. The autonomous vehicle having a redundant braking system of claim 7, wherein the second retarder comprises:

the worm is connected with the first speed reducer and is rotationally connected with the shell;

the turbine is rotationally connected with the shell and meshed with the worm; the turbine drives the swing arm to rotate.

12. The autonomous vehicle having a redundant braking system of claim 7, wherein the drive mechanism further comprises:

a third speed reducer connected to the second speed reducer and configured to reduce the third output rotation speed to a fourth output rotation speed;

the third speed reducer is configured to drive the swing arm to rotate, and the rotating speed of the swing arm is smaller than or equal to the fourth output rotating speed.

13. The autonomous vehicle having a redundant braking system of claim 12, wherein the third speed reducer comprises:

the annular gear is fixedly connected with the shell;

the sun gear is fixedly connected with the second speed reducer;

the planet gears are arranged between the sun gear and the inner gear ring and are meshed with the sun gear and the inner gear ring;

and the planet carrier is fixedly connected with the plurality of planet gears and is connected with the swing arm.

14. The autonomous vehicle having a redundant braking system of claim 1, further comprising:

and the control system is configured to respond to the received braking fault signal and send a starting instruction to the driving device so as to enable the driving device to be started.

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