EP4295338A1

EP4295338A1 - Method for managing the crossing of a tunnel by a large vehicle

Info

Publication number: EP4295338A1
Application number: EP22709345.7A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Elodie Vanpoperinghe; Paul HENDI; Thomas Grau; Damien Dueso
Original assignee: Stellantis Auto SAS
Current assignee: Stellantis Auto SAS
Priority date: 2021-02-16
Filing date: 2022-01-14
Publication date: 2023-12-27
Also published as: WO2022175609A1; FR3119922B1; FR3119922A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for managing the passing through of a tunnel (4) with two-way traffic by a large vehicle (5), comprising the steps of receiving information relating to the properties of the tunnel which the large vehicle is about to pass through, verifying sufficient width of the tunnel to allow the large vehicle to cross with other vehicles there, in a safe manner, verifying when the width of the tunnel is insufficient for the presence or entry into the tunnel of at least one other vehicle (6) travelling in the opposite direction to the large vehicle, and sending, in the event of the presence or entry into the tunnel of at least one other vehicle and for the attention of the driver of the large vehicle or of an automated driving system autonomously managing its driving, an alert ordering the the large vehicle to stop before entering the tunnel.

Description

Title of the invention: Method for managing the crossing of a tunnel by a large vehicle

The present invention claims the priority of French application 2101471 filed on 02.16.2021, the content of which (text, drawings and claims) is incorporated herein by reference.

[1] i[Technical field]

[2] The present invention relates in general to the problem of improving the safety of vehicles when passing certain infrastructures of the road network.

[3] The invention relates in particular to a method for managing the crossing of a two-way traffic tunnel by a large vehicle.

[4] [Prior Technique]

[5] Mountainous roads are most often provided with narrow tunnels dug in the rock and do not allow a large vehicle (such as a bus or a truck) to cross another vehicle traveling in the direction of reverse circulation.

[6] Thus, when it is about to enter such a tunnel, the large vehicle generally uses its audible warning device or flashes its headlights in order to warn the drivers of other vehicles located near its presence.

[7] This type of alert thus makes it possible to reinforce the level of vigilance of the drivers of vehicles also preparing to enter this tunnel and whose direction of traffic is opposite to that of the large vehicle, so as to limit the risk of accident.

[8] However, the generation of such an alert is not sufficient to dissuade the drivers of these vehicles from entering the tunnel since the latter have no information on the type of vehicle they are about to to meet there. [9] These drivers can thus realize the impossibility of crossing with this large vehicle inside the tunnel only when the latter becomes visible and even though they have often traveled several tens of meters in this tunnel.

[10] All the vehicles present in the lane whose direction of traffic is opposite to that of the lane on which the large vehicle is located must then reverse to the exit of the tunnel so as to allow this vehicle to large frame to cross it without incident.

[11] These reversing exit maneuvers create significant risks of collision between vehicles and lead to a temporary blockage of road traffic in both directions.

[12] We know from document EP 2787325 A1, a device intended to be integrated into a large vehicle and to alert on and/or to take into account a driving restriction at least potentially created by a road infrastructure such as a bridge or tunnel, comprising:

- a reception unit intended to receive at least information relevant to the large vehicle and concerning the road infrastructure,

- a supply unit intended to supply the driver of the large vehicle with said at least one piece of information relevant to the large vehicle and/or at least one piece of information based thereon, and

- a determination unit which is configured to determine, based on the relevant information for the large vehicle and at least one information specific to the large vehicle, whether a driving restriction exists or is imminent for the vehicle large gauge, and/or to determine a guide instruction for the large gauge vehicle, preferably in the case where it is not possible for the large gauge vehicle to use the road infrastructure and/or in the case where a driving restriction is actually determined for the large vehicle.

[13] Such a device thus makes it possible to define a route for bypassing a road infrastructure (such as a bridge or a tunnel) located on its initial route and whose characteristics (limited weight, width and/or height) are oppose the passage of this large vehicle. [14] However, this type of device does not make it possible to respond to the problem of tunnels allowing the passage of such a large vehicle but not allowing it to pass other vehicles there.

[15] [Disclosure of the invention]

[16] The present invention therefore aims to improve the situation.

[17] To this end, it proposes a process for managing the crossing of a two-way tunnel by a large vehicle, said process comprising the following steps:

- receipt of information relating to the characteristics of said tunnel that said large vehicle is about to cross;

- verification, based on said information received concerning said tunnel and the characteristics of said large vehicle, of the sufficient width of said tunnel to allow said large vehicle to pass other vehicles in it in a safe manner;

- verification, when the width of said tunnel is insufficient, of the presence or entry into said tunnel of at least one other vehicle traveling in the opposite direction of said large vehicle; and

- emission, in the event of the presence or entry into said tunnel of at least said other vehicle and for the attention of the driver of said large vehicle or of an automated driving system autonomously managing the driving of this large vehicle, an alert ordering the stopping of said large vehicle before entering said tunnel.

[18] The method according to the invention thus makes it possible to improve the safety and fluidity of road traffic by preventing a large vehicle from venturing into a narrow tunnel that does not allow it to cross paths with other vehicles. in complete safety, as soon as at least one vehicle traveling in the opposite direction is already traveling there or is about to enter it.

[19] According to preferred characteristics of said process according to the invention, taken alone or in combination:

- said method comprises, when no other vehicle is present in said tunnel or is about to enter it, a step of transmitting to the attention of vehicles traveling in the opposite direction approaching said tunnel, and via a protocol of wireless communication, of an informative message signaling the imminent entry of said heavy-gauge vehicle into said tunnel and asking them not to enter it before it has come out;

- Said informative message is accompanied by geographic position information, speed and / or direction of travel on said large vehicle;

- the step of verifying the presence or entry into said tunnel of at least one other vehicle traveling in the opposite direction of said large vehicle is carried out by comparing the geographical positions and the direction of travel of the other vehicles located in the environment of said large-size vehicle-to the geographical position of said tunnel provided by the mapping of the navigation system of said large-size vehicle;

- the geographical positions and the direction of travel of said other vehicles located in the environment of said large vehicle are received via a wireless communication protocol from these other vehicles;

- the geographical positions of said other vehicles located in the environment of said large vehicle are received via a wireless communication protocol from these other vehicles, the direction of travel of said other vehicles located in the environment of said large vehicle being determined from the calculation of the evolution of the distance between these other vehicles and the said large vehicle, or from the revolution of the distance between these other vehicles and the said tunnel;

- the information relating to the characteristics of said tunnel is received via a wireless communication protocol from a beacon located in said tunnel or close to it;

- the information relating to the characteristics of said tunnel are received from the navigation system of said large vehicle; and or

- Said wireless communication protocol is of the vehicle-to-everything (V2X) type.

[20] The invention also relates, in a second aspect, to an alert device comprising a processing unit equipped with a computer associated with a memory module and able to implement said method.

[21] [Brief description of drawings] [22] The description of the invention will now be continued with the detailed description of an embodiment, given below by way of illustration but not limitation, with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

[23] [Fig 1] shows a large vehicle equipped with a warning device according to the invention driving on a traffic lane of a two-way traffic road and preparing to enter a tunnel;

[24] [Fig 2] is a schematic view of the alert device according to the invention; and

[25] [Fig 3] illustrates a flowchart of a method according to the invention for managing the crossing of a two-way traffic tunnel by a large vehicle implemented by the warning device of the figure 2.

[26] [Detailed description]

[27] Figure 1 schematically illustrates a section of a two-way traffic road 1 comprising two traffic lanes 2, 3 joined to one another, and on which is arranged a narrow tunnel 4 associated with restrictions traffic.

[28] A first heavy-gauge vehicle 5 rolling on the traffic lane 2 in the direction represented by the arrow F is about to enter the tunnel 4 by a first of its ends while a second vehicle 6 traveling in the direction in the opposite direction on traffic lane 3 is going through this tunnel 4 and that a third vehicle 7 traveling in the opposite direction on traffic lane 3 is approaching the second end of this same tunnel 4.

[29] Due to the substantial width of vehicle 5 and the narrowness of this tunnel 4 along which the traffic lanes 2, 3 have a reduced width, it will not be possible for the two vehicles 5, 6 or 5, 7 to pass each other safely inside this tunnel 4.

[30] In order to avoid the occurrence of such a situation requiring the vehicles 6 and 7 to carry out a dangerous reversing maneuver until the exit of the tunnel 4 so as to allow the large vehicle 5 to cross this tunnel without incident, the latter vehicle is equipped with a warning device 10 according to the invention. [31] Referring to Figure 2, this alert device 10 comprises a wireless communication module 20, a processing unit 30 and an alert module 40.

[32] The communication module 20 is capable of receiving information concerning the characteristics of the tunnel 4 transmitted, via a wireless communication protocol in real time and for the attention of the large host vehicle 5, by a beacon 8 implanted in the tunnel 4 or close to it as soon as the latter detects that this heavy-gauge vehicle 5 is about to enter this tunnel 4 (see FIG. 1).

[33] The communication module 20 is also capable of receiving, via a wireless communication protocol in real time, information transmitted by the other vehicles 6, 7 circulating in its close environment.

[34] This information may consist, for example, for each vehicle, of data representing its geographical position, its speed and/or its direction of travel.

[35] The communication module 20 is finally able to transmit, via a real-time wireless communication protocol, information for the attention of other vehicles 6, 7 circulating in its close environment.

[36] The real-time wireless communication protocol implemented by the communication module 20 is advantageously of the vehicle-to-everything type (more commonly referred to by the English acronym "V2X" for "Vehicle to X") allowing vehicles to exchange information between themselves, with infrastructures and pedestrians.

[37] Such a vehicle-to-everything communication protocol is for example based on the Car2X wireless communication standard developed by the international consortium 3GPP and based on the 4G and 5G mobile network standards, or based on the communication standard wireless ITS-G5 developed by the IEEE association and based on the IEEE 802.11 p WiFi standard.

[38] As a variant, the real-time wireless communication protocol can implement other types of real-time wireless communication protocols, based for example on a cellular network of the LTE 4G or 5G type, on a communication system of the Wifi type (for example according to the IEEE 802.11 n or IEEE 802.11 ac standard), or else on a communication system of the Bluetooth type (for example according to the Bluetooth v5 standard).

[39] The processing unit 30 comprises a computer 31 equipped with one or more interconnected microprocessors, as well as a memory module 32 comprising non-volatile and non-volatile memory, such as EEPROM, ROM, PROM, RAM, DRAM, SRAM, flash, magnetic or optical disk.

[40] The non-volatile memory is intended to store different types of data such as the intrinsic characteristics of the large-gauge host vehicle 5 such as in particular its width, its height, its empty weight, its total authorized weight in charge, etc. ...

[41] The alert module 40 is capable of alerting the driver of the large host vehicle 5 via the various means of human-machine interaction (HMI) of the visual and/or sound type with which this vehicle is equipped.

[42] The means of visual interaction consist, for example, of the touch screen display of the infotainment device integrated into the center console of the dashboard, by that of the instrument cluster, and/or by that of the head-up display device when the vehicle is fitted with one.

[43] The means of sound interaction are conventionally formed by the loudspeakers of the infotainment system and/or by an independent system alarm.

[44] Alerts consist, for example, of displaying an alert text message and/or sending an alert voice message.

[45] According to the invention, the non-volatile memory of the processing unit 30 stores a process according to the invention for managing the crossing of a two-way traffic tunnel by a large vehicle.

[46] We will now describe in detail and in support of the flowchart in Figure 3, the different stages of this process.

[47] This is initiated upon receipt, by the communication module 20, of information relating to the characteristics of a tunnel such as 4 that the heavy-gauge vehicle 5 is about to cross (initial step 100) , this information being transmitted by a beacon such as 8 associated with the tunnel 4 and via a wireless communication protocol.

[48] The information emitted by beacon 8 can, for example, indicate the maximum width of vehicles authorized to use tunnel 4, the width of the traffic lanes inside this tunnel 4, certain passage restrictions for vehicles carrying dangerous goods, etc.

[49] According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, this information relating to the characteristics of the tunnel 4 that the large host vehicle 5 is about to pass through can be transmitted directly to the processing unit 30 by the navigation of this vehicle 5 whose mapping of the road network lists not only the roads but also a multitude of points of interest classified by categories including in particular the tunnels and their characteristics.

[50] The processing unit 30 then checks, based on the characteristics of the tunnel 4 contained in the information received as well as the characteristics of the large host vehicle 5 stored in the memory module 32, whether this tunnel 4 is wide enough to allow this heavy-gauge vehicle 5 to pass other vehicles 6, 7 in it in a secure manner (step 200).

[51] This condition will for example be validated when the differential between the width of the tunnel 4 and that of the large host vehicle 5 is greater than or equal to a predetermined minimum safety distance (this safety distance may be included for example between 2.5 and 3.5 meters).

[52] If tunnel 4 is wide enough, the process stops and large vehicle 5 can continue on its way normally.

[53] Otherwise, the processing unit 30 then checks whether another vehicle traveling in the opposite direction to the heavy-gauge vehicle 5 is already present in this tunnel 4 or is about to enter it (step 300).

[54] This verification is for example carried out by comparing the geographical positions and the direction of movement of the other vehicles 6, 7 located in the environment of the large vehicle 5 (contained in the information transmitted by these vehicles 6, 7 and received via communication module 20) to the geographical position of the tunnel 4 provided by the map of the navigation system of the large vehicle 5.

[55] In the absence of data relating to the directions of movement of the other vehicles 6, 7 located in the environment of the vehicle 5, the processing unit 30 can for example determine this information from the calculation of the evolution of the distance between these vehicles and the large vehicle 5, or based on the evolution of the distance between these other vehicles and the tunnel 4.

[56] In the case where the presence or entry of at least one other vehicle 6 into the tunnel 4 is detected, the processing unit 30 will transmit to the alert module 40 a transmission order to the driver's attention, a visual and/or sound alert asking him to stop the large host vehicle 5 before entering the tunnel 4 so as to allow this at least other vehicle 6 to cross unhindered this tunnel 4 (step 400).

[57] As a variant and when the large host vehicle 5 is equipped with an autonomous driving system, the processing unit 30 can send an alert directly to this autonomous driving system ordering the stoppage of this large vehicle 5 before entering tunnel 4.

[58] In the case where no other vehicle is present in the tunnel 4 or is about to enter it, the processing unit 30 will ask the communication module 20 to transmit, for the attention vehicles such as 7 traveling in the opposite direction and approaching tunnel 4, an informative message signaling the imminent entry of the large vehicle 5 into this tunnel 4 and asking them not to enter it before it is exited (step 500).

[59] This informative message can advantageously be accompanied by geographic position, speed and/or traffic direction information concerning the large host vehicle 5, so as to allow these other vehicles 7 to locate it more easily.

[60] In general, it is recalled that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described and represented, but that it encompasses any variant of execution within the reach of those skilled in the art i

Claims

[Claim 1] Î Method for managing the crossing of a two-way traffic tunnel (4) by a large vehicle (5), said method comprising the following steps:

- reception of information relating to the characteristics of said tunnel (4) that said large vehicle (5) (100) is about to pass through;

- verification, according to said information received concerning said tunnel (4) and the characteristics of said large vehicle (5), of the sufficient width of said tunnel (4) to allow said large vehicle (5) to cross there other vehicles (6, 7) securely (200);

- verification, when the width of said tunnel (4) is insufficient, of the presence or entry into said tunnel (4) of at least one other vehicle (6) traveling in the opposite direction of said large vehicle (5) (300); and

- emission, in the event of the presence or entry into said tunnel (4) of at least said other vehicle (6) and for the attention of the driver of said large vehicle (5) or of a driving system automated autonomously managing the driving of this large vehicle (5), an alert ordering the stopping of said large vehicle (5) before entering said tunnel

(4) (400).

[Claim 2] Method according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises, when no other vehicle is present in said tunnel (4) or is about to enter it, a step of transmitting to the attention of vehicles (7) traveling in the opposite direction approaching said tunnel (4), and via a wireless communication protocol, of an informative message signaling the imminent entry of said large vehicle (5) into said tunnel (4 ) and asking them not to enter it until he has left (500).

[Claim 3] Method according to claim 2, characterized in that said informative message is accompanied by geographic position, speed and/or direction of travel information relating to said heavy-gauge vehicle (5). [Claim 4] Method according to one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the step (300) of verifying the presence or entry into said tunnel (4) of at least one other vehicle (6 ) circulating in the opposite direction of said large-size vehicle (5) is carried out by comparing the geographical positions and the direction of movement of the other vehicles (6, 7) located in the environment of said large-size vehicle (5) with the geographical position said tunnel (4) provided by the mapping of the navigation system of said large vehicle (5).

[Claim 5] Method according to claim 4, characterized in that the geographical positions and the direction of travel of the said other vehicles (6, 7) located in the environment of the said large vehicle (5) are received via a communication protocol wireless from these other vehicles (6, 7).

[Claim 6] Method according to claim 4, characterized in that the geographical positions of the said other vehicles (6, 7) located in the environment of the said large vehicle (5) are received via a wireless communication protocol originating from these other vehicles (6, 7), the direction of travel of the said other vehicles (6, 7) located in the environment of the said large vehicle (5) being determined from the calculation of the evolution of the distance between these other vehicles (6, 7) and said heavy-gauge vehicle (5), or based on the evolution of the distance between these other vehicles (6, 7) and said tunnel (4).

[Claim 7] Method according to one of Claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the information relating to the characteristics of the said tunnel (4) is received via a wireless communication protocol from a beacon (8) installed in the said tunnel (4) or close to it.

[Claim 8] Method according to one of Claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the information relating to the characteristics of the said tunnel (4) is received from the navigation system of the said large vehicle (5).

[Claim 9] Method according to one of Claims 2, 5, 6 or 7, characterized in that the said wireless communication protocol is of the vehicle-to-everything (V2X) type. [Claim 10] Warning device comprising a processing unit (30) equipped with a computer (31) associated with a memory module (32) and capable of implementing the method according to one of Claims 1 to 9. !