SE1550271A1

SE1550271A1 - Motor Vehicle for Inclusion in a Vehicle Train in which the Relative Lateral Vehicle Positions are Adjustable and corresponding Method

Info

Publication number: SE1550271A1
Application number: SE1550271A
Authority: SE
Inventors: Sandberg Daniel; BERGKVIST Johannes
Original assignee: Scania Cv Ab
Priority date: 2015-03-06
Filing date: 2015-03-06
Publication date: 2016-09-07
Also published as: DE102016002127A1; SE538848C2; DE102016002127B4

Abstract

13 Abstract A number of motor vehicles (111, 112, 11n) are controlled via arespective processor unit (211, 21n) and wireless interface (221,22n) in each vehicle through which status and control data (Ds,Cmd) are repeatedly exchanged, thus linking the vehicles logi-cally to one another and forming a vehicle train (110). One ve-hicle is a master vehicle and the other are slave vehicles. Eachprocessor unit (211, 21n) repeatedly calculates a current fuelconsumption of the vehicle (111, 112, 11n) and includes this in-formation in the status data (Ds) reported to the master vehicle.Based thereon, the processor unit of the master vehicle produ-ces steering control data ordering adjustment of a lateral po-sition (PL2.1, PLn.(n.1)) for at least one first motor vehicle (111)relative to a lateral position for at least one second motor ve-hicle (112) in the vehicle train (110), wherein the lateral adjust-ment is to be made in a direction perpendicular to a direction ofmovement (D) for the vehicle train (110) aiming at reducing theoverall fuel consumption of the vehicle train (110). (Pig. 1b)

Description

Motor Vehicle for lnclusion in a Vehicle Train in which theRelative Lateral Vehicle Positions are Adjustable andcorresponding Method THE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND PRIOR ART The present invention relates generally to solutions for control-ling vehicle trains. More particularly the invention relates to amotor vehicle according to the preamble of claim 1 and a corres-ponding method. The invention also relates to a computer pro-gram product and a non-transitory computer readable medium.

Today, technical solutions for coordinating vehicle trains (or so-called platoons) are becoming increasingly frequent. These sys-tems enable a number of motor vehicles to travel much closer toone another than would be possible if a reacting distance forhuman reaction was needed. Such vehicle trains are generallyadvantageous because the number of drivers can be madesmaller than the number of vehicles. Automated highway system(AHS), or Smart Road, is one example of this technology, whichis designed to provide for driverless cars on specific rights-of-way. The system is most often touted as a means of traffic con-gestion relief, since it will drastically reduce following distancesand headway, thus allowing more cars to occupy a given stretchof road. Moreover, the close spacing between the vehicles lo-wers the air resistance, which is beneficial because it reducesthe fuel consumption.

Bus rapid transit (BRT) is another type of a vehicle train. Here,two or more busses are coordinated to travel along a particularline, for instance to transport passengers to/from an airport, orin public transportation. Of course, a group of trucks or automo-biles may be controlled in a corresponding manner to reduce therequired number of operators and render the use of fuel moreefficient.

To further enhance the fuel economy, especially in case of cross wind, it may be necessary to control a vehicle”s lateral position,i.e. in a direction perpendicular to the travel direction relative tothe vehicle in front. The prior art includes examples of such so-lutions.

US 2013/0030606 discloses a method of autonomously convo-ying vehicles traveling along a route with a leader vehicle beingin communication with at least one follower vehicle. The at leastone follower vehicle receives a communication relating to a tar-get offset position and route data. Tracking data is generatedand derived from on-board sensing devices of the at least onefollower vehicle that includes a traveled path of the leader ve-hicle sensed by the at least one follower vehicle. The route datais compared to the tracking data for identifying accuracy bet-ween the route data relative to the tracking data. An adjustedtarget offset position and a set of trajectory points that providesa trajectory path of travel from a current position of the at leastone follower vehicle to the adjusted target offset position are de-termined based on the accuracy between the route data and thetracking data.

US 2013/0096773 describes a vehicle travel support device,wherein an electronic control unit includes an air resistance dist-ribution acquisition unit, a target traveling position determinationunit and a travel support unit. The air resistance distribution ac-quisition unit acquires air resistance distribution in the left andright directions of a host vehicle. The target traveling positiondetermination unit determines a target traveling position of thehost vehicle against a preceding vehicle using the air resistancedistribution. The travel support unit performs support to guidethe host vehicle to the target traveling position. According to thisvehicle travel support device, even if an area in which a largeaerodynamic effect is obtained by a preceding vehicle deviatesin the left and right directions of the host vehicle, the host vehic-le can be guided to a position corresponding to the deviation.Because of this, the fuel efficiency can be effectively improved.

WO 2013/147682 concerns a method for enhancing fuel utiliza-tion during forward travel of a vehicle. The method involves de-termining a position of the vehicle relative to a lead vehicle,which position is optimal from a fuel utilization standpoint. A ba-sis is furnished for an adaptation of the forward travel of the ve-hicle to the thus determined optimal position relative to said leadvehicle, and the forward travel of the vehicle is adapted in ac-cordance with the basis thus furnished.

WO 2013/006826 relates to a system and method for enablingvehicles to closely follow one another through partial automa-tion. Here, vehicles may to follow closely together in a safe, effi-cient and convenient manner. For example, an optimal lateralpositioning of the trucks is suggested to increase the fuel sa-vings. Namely, when experiencing cross wind, it may be prefer-able to have a slight offset between the trucks, such that thetrailing truck is not aligned perfectly behind the leading truck.This lateral position may be some combination of a relative po-sition to the surrounding trucks or other vehicles, position withinthe lane, and global position.

PROBLEIVIS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PRIOR ART Thus, solutions are known for controlling the behavior of indi-vidual motor vehicles to ameliorate the detrimental effects onthe fuel economy due to cross wind. However, there is yet nofully satisfying solution for controlling the entire vehicle train ai-ming at reducing the overall fuel consumption when travelling insuch wind conditions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is therefore to solve the abo-ve problem, and thus offer a solution for improving the fuel eco-nomy of a vehicle train.

According to one aspect of the invention, the object is achieved by the initially described motor vehicle, wherein the processorunit is configured to repeatedly report status data reflecting thecalculated fuel consumption of the motor vehicle to the proces-sor unit of the master vehicle. Based thereon, the processor unitof the master vehicle is configured to produce steering controldata ordering adjustment of a lateral position for at least one firstmotor vehicle in the vehicle train relative to a lateral position forat least one second motor vehicle in the vehicle train. The lateraladjustment is to be made in a direction perpendicular to a di-rection of movement for the vehicle train. This motor vehicle isadvantageous because it enables general optimization of the la-teral vehicle positions for an entire vehicle train (possibly alsoentailing adjustment of the lateral position for a frontmost vehic-le, which typically is the master vehicle).

For example, the steering control data produced in the processorunit of the master vehicle aim at reducing an overall fuel con-sumption for the motor vehicles in the vehicle train, and thesteering control data may specifically involve ordering adjust-ment of the lateral position of a frontmost motor vehicle relativeto a motor vehicle behind the frontmost motor vehicle. This app-roach opens up for considerable flexibility in choosing ideal lanepositions for the individual motor vehicles in the vehicle train.Namely, if exclusively the lateral position of the second and sub-sequently arranged motor vehicles are possible to influence, theroom for adjustment may be very limited given that the frontmostmotor vehicle has an inappropriate position in the lane.

According to another preferred embodiment of this aspect of theinvention, the processor unit in at least one of the slave vehiclesis configured to cause automatic adjustment of the lateral posi-tion in response to receiving the steering control data. Hence,the vehicle train can be arranged in agreement with the mastervehicle”s calculations in a fully automatic manner.

According to a further preferred embodiment of this aspect ofthe invention, in at least one of the slave vehicles, the processor unit is configured to cause presentation of a driver instructionencouraging a driver of the motor vehicle to adjust the |atera|position of the motor vehicle in response to receiving the stee-ring control data. Consequently, also human operators may beguided to follow |atera| positioning commands from the mastervehicle.

According to another aspect of the invention, the object is achie-ved by the method described initially, wherein status data reflec-ting the calculated fuel consumption of the motor vehicle are re-peatedly reported to the master vehicle. Based thereon, the mas-ter vehicle produces steering control data ordering adjustment ofa |atera| position for at least one first motor vehicle in the vehicletrain relative to a |atera| position for at least one second motorvehicle in the vehicle train, wherein the |atera| adjustment is tobe made in a direction perpendicular to a direction of movementfor the vehicle train. The advantages of this method are appa-rent from the discussion above with reference to the proposedmotor vehicle.

According to a further aspect of the invention the object isachieved by a computer program product, which is loadable intothe memory of a computer, and includes software for performingthe steps of the above proposed method when executed on acomputer.

According to another aspect of the invention the object is achie-ved by a non-transitory computer readable medium, having aprogram recorded thereon, where the program is make a compu-ter perform the method proposed above when the program isloaded into the computer.

Further advantages, beneficial features and applications of thepresent invention will be apparent from the following descriptionand the dependent claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention is now to be explained more closely by means ofpreferred embodiments, which are disclosed as examples, andwith reference to the attached drawings, where: Figures 1a-b show an example of a vehicle train to which thepresent invention may be applied; Figure 2 shows a block diagram over a system according toone embodiment of the invention; andFigure 3 illustrates, by means of a flow diagram, the gene- ral method according to the invention for control-ling the motor vehicles of a vehicle train.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE IN-VENTION lnitially, we refer to Figures 1a and 1b showing a side view anda top view respectively of a vehicle train 110 including a numberof individual motor vehicles, here represented by trucks, 111,112 and 11n respectively.

Figure 2 shows a block diagram illustrating a system containingwireless interfaces 221 and 22n and processor units 211 and21n of the motor vehicles 111 and 11n respectively in the vehic-le train 110.

Each wireless interface 221 and 22n is configured to communi-cate wirelessly with the wireless interfaces in the other motorvehicles 111, 112 and 11n in the vehicle train 110. The proces-sor units 211 and 21n of the respective vehicles are configuredto repeatedly exchange status data Ds and control data Cmdwith the processor units 211 and 21n in the other motor vehiclesover the wireless interfaces 221 and 22n. As a result, the ve-hicles are linked logically to one another so that they form thevehicle train 110. One motor vehicle, say 111, is a master ve-hicle while the other motor vehicles are slave vehicles. For prac-tical reasons, the master vehicle is normally the vehicle 111 located at the front of the vehicle train 110 with respect to a di-rection of movement D for the vehicle train 110.

Furthermore, it is often advantageous if at least one vehicle inthe vehicle train 110 is configured to be operated by a humandriver, while one or more motor vehicles in the vehicle train 110may be configured to be operated in a driverless manner. Pre-ferably, the master vehicle has the capacity of being operatedby a human driver; and typically, the slave vehicles are configu-red to be operated in a driverless manner.

Each processor unit 211 and 21n is configured to repeatedly cal-culate a current fuel consumption of the motor vehicle into whichit is included. The processor units 211 and 21n of the respectivemotor vehicles in the vehicle train 110 are further configured torepeatedly report status data Ds reflecting the calculated fuelconsumption of the motor vehicle to the processor unit of themaster vehicle. Based thereon, in turn, the processor unit of themaster vehicle is configured to produce steering control dataCmd ordering adjustment of a lateral position PL2.1 and PLn-(n.1)for at least one first motor vehicle, say 111, relative to a lateralposition for at least one second motor vehicle, say 112, in thevehicle train 110. Here, by lateral adjustment is understood anadjustment in a direction perpendicular to the direction of move-ment D for the vehicle train 110.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the steeringcontrol data Cmd specifically involves ordering adjustment of thelateral position PL2.1 of the frontmost motor vehicle 111 relativeto a motor vehicle 112 behind the frontmost motor vehicle 111.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the processorunit of the master vehicle is configured to produce the steeringcontrol data Cmd aiming explicitly at reducing an overall fuelconsumption for the motor vehicles 111, 112, 11n in the vehicletrain 110. ln response to receiving the steering control data Cmd in at least one of the slave vehicles, the processor unit in said at least oneslave vehicle is configured to cause automatic adjustment of thelateral position in response to receiving the steering control data.

Alternatively, or as a supplement thereto, the processor unit insaid at least one slave vehicle is configured to cause presen-tation of an instruction configured to encourage a driver of themotor vehicle to adjust the lateral position of the motor vehicle Preferably, each processor unit 211 and 21n contains, or is incommunicative connection with a memory unit 231 and 23n res-pectively storing a computer program product SW, which con-tains software for making the processor unit 211 and 21 n execu-te the above-described actions when the computer program pro-duct SW is run on the processor unit 211 and 21 n. ln order to sum up, and with reference to the flow diagram inFigure 3, we will now describe the general method executed inthe processor unit of the master vehicle according to the inven-tion in order to arrange the motor vehicles of a vehicle train late-rally in relation to one another. ln a first step 310 it is checked if fuel consumption data has beenreceived from at least one slave vehicle. lf so, a step 320 follows;and otherwise, the procedure loops back and stays in step 310. ln step 320 it is decided if it is necessary to change the lateral po-sition of at least one motor vehicle relative to another motor vehicle.lf so, a step 330 follows; and otherwise, the procedure loops backto step 310. ln step 330 steering control data are sent out to the at least onemotor vehicle whose lateral position shall be adjusted relative toanother motor vehicle. Then, the procedure loops back to step 310.

All of the process steps, as well as any sub-sequence of steps,described with reference to Figure 3 above may be controlled bymeans of a programmed computer apparatus. l\/loreover, al- though the embodiments of the invention described above withreference to the drawings comprise a computer apparatus andprocesses performed in a computer apparatus, the invention thusalso extends to computer programs, particularly computer pro-grams on or in a carrier, adapted for putting the invention intopractice. The program may be in the form of source code, objectcode, a code intermediate source and object code such as inpartially compiled form, or in any other form suitable for use inthe implementation of the process according to the invention.The program may either be a part of an operating system, or bea separate application. The carrier may be any non-transitoryentity or device capable of carrying the program. For example,the carrier may comprise a storage medium, such as a Flash me-mory, a ROM (Read Only Memory), for example a DVD (DigitalVideo/Versatile Disk), a CD (Compact Disc) or a semiconductorROM, an EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory),an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-OnlyMemory), or a magnetic recording medium, for example a floppydisc or hard disc. Alternatively, the carrier may be an integratedcircuit in which the program is embedded, the integrated circuitbeing adapted for performing, or for use in the performance of,the relevant processes.

The term “comprises/comprising” when used in this specificationis taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers,steps or components. However, the term does not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more additional features, inte-gers, steps or components or groups thereof.

The invention is not restricted to the described embodiments inthe figures, but may be varied freely within the scope of theclaims.

Claims

1. A motor vehicle (111, 112, 11n) configured to be includedin a vehicle train (110) containing two or more motor vehicles ofwhich one is a master vehicle and the other are slave vehicles,the motor vehicle (111, 112, 11n) comprising: a wireless interface (221, 22n) configured to communicatewirelessly with the wireless interfaces of the other motor vehiclesin the vehicle train (110), and a processor unit (211, 21n) configured to: repeatedly exchange status and control data (Ds, Cmd) with the processor units of the other motor vehicles in the vehicle train (110) over the wireless interface (221, 22n) thus linking the motor vehicles logically to one an- other, andrepeatedly calculate a current fuel consumption of themotor vehicle (111, 112, 11n),characterized in that the processor units (211, 21n) of the respective motor ve-hicles (111, 112, 11n) in the vehicle train (110) are configured torepeatedly report status data (Ds) reflecting the calculated fuelconsumption of the motor vehicle (111, 112, 11n) to the proces-sor unit of the master vehicle, and based thereon the processor unit of the master vehicle is configured toproduce steering control data ordering adjustment of a lateralposition (PLz-i, PLn.(n.1)) for at least one first motor vehicle (111)relative to a lateral position for at least one second motor vehicle(112) in the vehicle train (110), wherein the lateral adjustment isto be made in a direction perpendicular to a direction of move-ment (D) for the vehicle train (110).

2. The motor vehicle (111, 112, 11n) according to claim 1,wherein the steering control data may involve ordering adjust-ment of the lateral position (PL2-1) of a frontmost motor vehicle(111) relative to a motor vehicle (112) behind the frontmost mo-tor vehicle (111). 11

3. The motor vehicle (111, 112, 11n) according to claim 2,wherein frontmost motor vehicle (111) is the master vehicle.

4. The motor vehicle (111, 112, 11n) according to any one ofthe preceding claims, wherein the processor unit (211, 21n) ofthe master vehicle is configured to produce the steering controldata aiming at reducing an overall fuel consumption for the mo-tor vehicles in the vehicle train (110).

5. The motor vehicle (111, 112, 11n) according to any one ofthe preceding claims, wherein in at least one of the slavevehicles, the processor unit (211, 21n) is configured to cause au-tomatic adjustment of the lateral position in response to recei-ving the steering control data.

6. The motor vehicle (111, 112, 11n) according to any one ofthe preceding claims, wherein in at least one of the slavevehicles, in response to receiving the steering control data, theprocessor unit (211, 21n) is configured to cause presentation ofan instruction configured to encourage a driver of the motor ve-hicle to adjust the lateral position of the motor vehicle.

7. A method performed in a motor vehicle (111, 112, 11n) in-cluded in a vehicle train (110) containing two or more motor ve-hicles of which one is a master vehicle and the other are slavevehicles, the method comprising: communicating wirelessly with the other motor vehicles inthe vehicle train (110), the communication involving repeatedexchange of status and control data (Ds, Cmd) with the othermotor vehicles in the vehicle train (110) thus linking the motorvehicles logically to one another, and calculating, repeatedly, a current fuel consumption of themotor vehicle (111, 112, 11n),characterized by reporting, repeatedly, status data (Ds) reflecting the calcu-lated fuel consumption of the motor vehicle (111, 112, 11n) to 12 the master vehicle, and based thereon producing, in the master vehicle, steering control data or-dering adjustment of a lateral position (PL2.1, PLn.(n.1)) for at leastone first motor vehicle (111) relative to a lateral position for atleast one second motor vehicle (112) in the vehicle train (110),wherein the lateral adjustment is to be made in a directionperpendicular to a direction of movement (D) for the vehicle train(110).

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the steeringcontrol data may involve ordering adjustment of the lateral posi-tion of a frontmost motor vehicle (111) relative to a motor vehicle(112) behind the frontmost motor vehicle (111).

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein frontmost motorvehicle (111) is the master vehicle.

10. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, whereinthe steering control data are produced aiming at reducing anoverall fuel consumption for the motor vehicles in the vehicletrain (110).

11. A computer program product (SW) loadable into a memory(231, 23n) of at least one computer, comprising software for per-forming the steps of the method according to any of the claims 7to 10 when executed on the at least one computer.

12. A non-transitory computer readable medium (231, 23n) ha-ving a program (SW) recorded thereon, where the program (SW)is to make at least one computer perform the steps of any of theclaims 7 to 10.