Intermediary agent device, electric control vehicle driving system and operation method thereof
阅读说明:本技术 中介代理装置、电控车辆驾驶系统及其操作方法 (Intermediary agent device, electric control vehicle driving system and operation method thereof ) 是由 杰克陈 于 2019-12-10 设计创作,主要内容包括:本发明公开了一种中介代理装置、电控车辆驾驶系统及其操作方法,电控车辆驾驶系统包含传感器、车辆功能模块、数据库装置、人工智能电脑与中介代理装置。数据库装置内存有不同的通信格式。人工智能电脑连接传感器,要求车辆功能模块执行用于搭配传感器来驱动车辆的特定功能。中介代理装置辨识车辆功能模块的种类;比对出对应车辆功能模块的种类的通信格式;判断是否收到从人工智能电脑至车辆功能模块的第一指令;通过模拟第一指令以产生相符此通信格式的第二指令;将第二指令传送至车辆功能模块,使得相符此通信格式的车辆功能模块能够读取第二指令以致执行车辆的特定功能。借此,本发明可以节省时间以及人力和成本的耗费。(The invention discloses an intermediary agent device, an electric control vehicle driving system and an operation method thereof. Different communication formats are stored in the database device. The artificial intelligence computer is connected with the sensor and requires the vehicle function module to execute a specific function for matching with the sensor to drive the vehicle. The intermediary agent device identifies the type of the vehicle function module; comparing the communication formats of the types of the corresponding vehicle function modules; judging whether a first instruction from the artificial intelligence computer to the vehicle function module is received or not; generating a second instruction conforming to the communication format by simulating the first instruction; the second instructions are communicated to the vehicle function module such that the vehicle function module conforming to the communication format is able to read the second instructions so as to perform the specific function of the vehicle. Therefore, the invention can save time, labor and cost.)
1. An electronically controlled vehicle driving system adapted for a vehicle capable of switching operation between a manual control mode and an automatic control mode, comprising:
a controller area network bus;
a plurality of sensors interconnected to each other through the controller area network bus;
at least one vehicle function module;
a database device in which a plurality of communication formats different from each other are stored;
an artificial intelligence computer respectively connected to the plurality of sensors and configured to request the vehicle function module to perform a specific function for driving the vehicle in cooperation with sensing contents of the plurality of sensors; and
an intermediary agent device electrically connected to the database device, the vehicle function module and the artificial intelligence computer and configured to:
identifying a type of the vehicle function module;
comparing one of the plurality of communication formats to which the category corresponding to the identified vehicle function module belongs;
judging whether a first instruction for going to the vehicle function module from the artificial intelligence computer is received or not;
generating a second instruction conforming to said one of the communication formats by emulating said first instruction; and
transmitting the second instruction to the vehicle function module such that the vehicle function module conforming to the one of the communication formats is able to read the second instruction so as to perform a specific function of the vehicle.
2. The electronically controlled vehicle steering system of claim 1, wherein the vehicle function module comprises:
an electric motor;
an electronic control unit electrically connected to the electric motor for performing a specific function of the vehicle; and
a torque sensor located on a steering wheel set of the vehicle and electrically connected to the intermediate agent device and the electronic control unit,
wherein the torque sensor transmits a torque sensing signal to the mediating agent device when the vehicle is in the manual control mode, the torque sensing signal containing an assist torque of the steering wheel set,
when the vehicle is in the automatic control mode, the mediation agent device bypasses the torque sensor and sends the second instruction to the electronic control unit, so that the electronic control unit requests the electric motor to drive the steering wheel group to rotate toward a specific angle according to the second instruction received from the mediation agent device.
3. The electronically controlled vehicle driving system of claim 2, wherein said mediating means includes a mode switch for effecting mode switching of said vehicle such that said vehicle is operable in one of said manual control mode and said automatic control mode;
wherein when the steering wheel set is rotated in the automatic control mode, the torque sensor transmits the torque sensing signal to the mediating agent device, and the mode converter switches the artificial intelligence computer from the automatic control mode to be operable in the manual control mode.
4. The electronically controlled vehicle steering system of claim 1, wherein the vehicle function module is one of an electric power steering module, an acceleration module, a braking module, and a transmission module.
5. The electronically controlled vehicle driving system of claim 1, wherein said artificial intelligence computer comprises an advanced driving assistance system.
6. The electronically controlled vehicle driving system of claim 1, wherein said database means is located on said vehicle or a cloud server.
7. The electronically controlled vehicle driving system of claim 1, wherein said database means is built into a memory unit of said broker means.
8. An intermediary agent device for use in an electronically controlled vehicle driving system of a vehicle, wherein the electronically controlled vehicle driving system includes an artificial intelligence computer and an electric power steering module, the intermediary agent device being disposed between the artificial intelligence computer and the electric power steering module, the intermediary agent device comprising:
a housing;
a computing circuit board located within the housing;
a database device mounted on the computing circuit board and having stored therein a plurality of communication formats different from each other;
the processing unit is arranged on the computing circuit board and is electrically connected to the database device; and
a plurality of connection ports disposed on the computing circuit board and the housing, wherein the processing unit is electrically connected to a torque sensor and an electronic control unit of the electric power steering module through the plurality of connection ports, and the processing unit is configured to:
identifying a type of the torque sensor;
comparing one of the plurality of communication formats to which the class corresponding to the identified torque sensor module belongs;
judging whether a first instruction from the artificial intelligence computer to the electronic control unit is received or not;
generating a second instruction conforming to said one of the communication formats by emulating said first instruction; and
and transmitting the second instruction to the electronic control unit, so that the electronic control unit conforming to one of the communication formats can read the second instruction, and an electric motor is required to drive a steering wheel group of the vehicle to rotate towards a specific angle.
9. The broker apparatus of claim 8 wherein the plurality of connection ports are pluggably connected to the artificial intelligence computer and the electric power steering module.
10. A method of operating an electronically controlled vehicle steering system, comprising:
identifying a type of a vehicle function module of the vehicle;
comparing one of a plurality of communication formats to which the category corresponding to the identified vehicle function module belongs, wherein the plurality of communication formats are stored in a database device of the vehicle;
judging whether a first instruction for going to the vehicle function module from an artificial intelligence computer of the vehicle is received;
when the first instruction from the artificial intelligence computer is judged, a second instruction conforming to one of the communication formats is generated by simulating the first instruction; and
transmitting the second instruction to the vehicle function module such that the vehicle function module conforming to the one of the communication formats is able to read the second instruction so as to perform a specific function of the vehicle.
11. The method of operating an electronically controlled vehicle driving system as recited in claim 10, wherein the step of identifying said category of said vehicle function module of said vehicle further comprises:
when the torque sensor is electrically connected to a torque sensor positioned in a steering wheel group in the vehicle, detecting an identification signal of the torque sensor; and
and identifying the type of the torque sensor according to the detected identification signal of the torque sensor.
12. The method of operating an electronically controlled vehicle driving system according to claim 11, wherein the step of comparing one of a plurality of communication formats to which the category corresponding to the identified vehicle function module belongs further comprises:
determining whether said class of said torque sensor matches one of said plurality of communication formats stored in said database means; and
when it is determined that the type of the torque sensor matches one of the plurality of communication formats stored in the database device, a command generator capable of generating a command conforming to the one of the plurality of communication formats is set upon simulation of any command from the artificial intelligence computer.
13. The method of operating an electronically controlled vehicle steering system according to claim 12, wherein the step of simulating said first command to generate a second command conforming to said one of said communication formats further comprises:
analyzing the first instruction to obtain an indication purpose of the first instruction;
determining whether said indicated purpose of said first command matches one of a plurality of control commands stored in said database means; and
instructing the instruction generator to generate the second instruction when it is determined that the indicated purpose of the first instruction matches the one of the control instructions stored in the database device, wherein the second instruction has the same indicated purpose as the first instruction and conforms to the one of the communication formats.
14. The method of operating an electronically controlled vehicle steering system according to claim 11, further comprising:
determining whether a third command is received from the torque sensor to the vehicle function module; and
switching the vehicle from being operable in an automatic control mode to being operable in a manual control mode when it is determined that the third instruction is received from the torque sensor to the vehicle function module.
Technical Field
The present invention relates to an electrically controlled vehicle driving system and an operating method thereof, and more particularly, to an electrically controlled vehicle driving system having an agent device, which enables different types (e.g., brands) of vehicle function modules to be smoothly driven by an artificial intelligence computer in a same communication protocol mode.
Background
A vehicle driving system generally used for a wheeled vehicle can sense an external environment of the wheeled vehicle and provide navigation to the wheeled vehicle traveling on a road. More specifically, the vehicle driving system coordinately controls various vehicle function modules (e.g., an electric power steering module, an acceleration module, a brake module, and a transmission module) of the wheeled vehicle through an Artificial Intelligence (AI) control system to safely assist the wheeled vehicle in traveling on a road.
In the initial development of the vehicle driving system, for example, when an attempt is made to integrate an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) of a steering Control module into the above-described artificial intelligence Control system, the overall communication format (e.g., protocol, program, and code) of the Electronic Control Unit must be adaptively changed or modified so as to be cooperatively connected with the above-described artificial intelligence Control system. Therefore, the electronic control unit of the steering control module can execute the steering task according to the command of the artificial intelligence control system.
However, since the process of integrating the electronic control unit of the steering control module into the artificial intelligence control system is complicated and inconvenient, and different brands of steering control modules have different communication protocol modes, not only the time, labor and cost may be consumed, but also the production time may be delayed.
Disclosure of Invention
The invention aims to provide an electric control vehicle driving system, wherein an artificial intelligent computer can coordinately control different vehicle function modules, so that the time, labor and cost consumption can be saved, and the opportunity of delaying the production schedule is reduced.
One embodiment of the present invention provides an electronically controlled vehicle driving system. The electronically controlled vehicle driving system is adapted to a vehicle capable of switching operation between a manual control mode and an automatic control mode. The electric control vehicle driving system comprises a Controller Area Network (CAN) bus, a plurality of sensors, at least one vehicle function module, a database device, an artificial intelligent computer and an intermediary agent device. The sensors are interconnected by a Controller Area Network (CAN) bus. The database device stores therein a plurality of communication formats different from each other. An artificial intelligence computer is connected to the sensors, respectively, and is configured to request the vehicle function module to perform a specific function for driving the vehicle in cooperation with sensing contents of the sensors. The intermediary agent device is electrically connected with the database device, the vehicle function module and the artificial intelligent computer. The intermediary agent device is configured to identify a type of the vehicle function module; comparing one of the communication formats which the category corresponding to the identified vehicle function module belongs to; judging whether a first instruction for going to a vehicle function module from an artificial intelligence computer is received; generating a second instruction conforming to the one of the communication formats by emulating the first instruction; and transmitting the second instructions to the vehicle function module such that the vehicle function module conforming to the one of the communication formats is able to read the second instructions so as to perform the specific function of the vehicle.
According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, in the above-mentioned electrically controlled vehicle driving system, the vehicle function module includes an electric motor, an electronic control unit and a torque sensor. The electronic control unit is electrically connected with the electric motor and is used for executing specific functions of the vehicle. The torque sensor is positioned on a steering wheel set of the vehicle and is electrically connected with the intermediary agent device and the electronic control unit. When the vehicle is in the manual control mode, the torque sensor transmits a torque sensing signal to the intermediate proxy device, wherein the torque sensing signal comprises the auxiliary torque of the steering wheel set. When the vehicle is in the automatic control mode, the intermediate agent device bypasses the torque sensor and sends a second command to the electronic control unit, so that the electronic control unit requests the electric motor to drive the steering wheel group to rotate towards a specific angle according to the second command received from the intermediate agent device.
According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, in the above-mentioned electrically controlled vehicle driving system, the agent device includes a mode converter. The mode converter is used for performing mode switching of the vehicle so that the vehicle can operate in one of a manual control mode and an automatic control mode. When the steering wheel set is rotated in the automatic control mode, the torque sensor transmits a torque sensing signal to the agent device, and the mode converter switches the artificial intelligence computer from the automatic control mode to be operable in the manual control mode.
According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, in the above-mentioned electrically controlled vehicle driving system, the vehicle function module is one of an electric power steering module, an acceleration module, a braking module and a speed changing module.
In the above-described electrically controlled vehicle driving system, the artificial intelligence computer includes Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.
According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, in the above-mentioned electronically controlled vehicle driving system, the database device is disposed on the vehicle or the cloud server.
According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, in the above-mentioned electrically controlled vehicle driving system, the database device is built in the memory unit of the agent device.
An embodiment of the present invention provides an intermediary agent apparatus. The intermediary agent device is suitable for an electric control vehicle driving system of a vehicle. The electric control vehicle driving system comprises an artificial intelligence computer and an electric power steering module, and the intermediary agent device is arranged between the artificial intelligence computer and the electric power steering module. The intermediary agent device comprises a shell, a computing circuit board, a database device, a processing unit and a plurality of connecting ports. The computer circuit board is located in the shell. The database device is mounted on the computing circuit board and stores therein a plurality of communication formats different from each other. The processing unit is arranged on the computing circuit board and is electrically connected to the database device. These connection ports are provided on the computing circuit board and the housing. The processing unit is electrically connected with the torque sensor and the electronic control unit of the electric power steering module through the connecting ports. The processing unit is configured to identify a type of the torque sensor; comparing one communication format which corresponds to the identified type of the torque sensor module; judging whether a first instruction from the artificial intelligence computer to the electronic control unit is received or not; generating a second instruction corresponding to the one communication format by simulating the first instruction; and transmitting the second command to the electronic control unit, so that the electronic control unit conforming to the one communication format can read the second command, and the electric motor is required to drive the steering wheel group of the vehicle to rotate towards a specific angle.
According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, in the above-mentioned intermediary agent apparatus, the connection ports are pluggable to the artificial intelligence computer and the electric power steering module.
One embodiment of the present invention provides a method of operating an electronically controlled vehicle driving system. The operation method comprises the following steps. Identifying a type of a vehicle function module of the vehicle; comparing one of a plurality of communication formats which belong to the identified types of the vehicle function modules, wherein the communication formats are stored in a database device of the vehicle; judging whether a first instruction for going to a vehicle function module from an artificial intelligence computer of the vehicle is received or not; when the first instruction from the artificial intelligence computer is judged, a second instruction conforming to one of the communication formats is generated by simulating the first instruction; and transmitting the second instructions to the vehicle function module such that the vehicle function module conforming to the one of the communication formats is able to read the second instructions so as to perform the specific function of the vehicle.
According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, in the above-mentioned operating method, the step of comparing one of the plurality of communication formats corresponding to the identified type of the vehicle function module further includes the following steps. Determining whether the type of torque sensor matches one of the communication formats stored in the database means; and a command generator configured to generate a command conforming to one of the communication formats upon simulating any command from the artificial intelligence computer when it is determined that the type of the torque sensor matches the one of the communication formats stored in the database device.
According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, in the above-mentioned operating method, the step of generating the second instruction conforming to the one of the communication formats by simulating the first instruction further includes the following steps. Analyzing the first instruction to obtain an indication purpose of the first instruction; judging whether the indication purpose of the first instruction is matched with one of the control instructions stored in the database device; and instructing the instruction generator to generate a second instruction when it is judged that the instruction purpose of the first instruction matches the one of the control instructions stored in the database device. The second instruction has the same instruction purpose as the first instruction, and the second instruction conforms to the communication format.
According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, the above operation method further includes the following steps. Judging whether a third instruction for going to a vehicle function module from the torque sensor is received; and when judging that a third instruction from the torque sensor to the vehicle function module is received, switching the vehicle from being operable in an automatic control mode to being operable in a manual control mode.
Thus, with the structure of the above embodiment, no matter what kind of vehicle function modules (e.g., steering control modules) have different communication protocol modes, the vehicle function modules (e.g., steering control modules) do not need to be integrated into the above-mentioned artificial intelligence computer, so that the artificial intelligence computer can control these different vehicle function modules in a coordinated manner. Therefore, not only can the time, labor and cost be saved, but also the chance of delaying the production schedule can be reduced.
The foregoing is merely illustrative of the problems, solutions to problems, and other advantages that may be realized and attained by the invention, and the details of which are set forth in the following description and the drawings.
Drawings
The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of the embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an electronically controlled vehicle steering system for a vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an electronically controlled vehicle steering system of a vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a broker apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention; and
FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a method of operating an electronically controlled vehicle steering system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
Description of the main reference numerals:
10-electrically controlled vehicle driving system, 41-45-steps, 100-sensor, 200-artificial intelligence computer, 300-controller area network bus, 400-vehicle function module, 500-database device, 510-type information, 520-communication format, 530-memory unit, 600-agent device, 610-shell, 620-computing circuit board, 630-processing unit, 640-connection port, 650-mode changer, 700-electric power steering module, 710-electric motor, 720-electronic control unit, 730-torque sensor, 800-steering wheel group, 810-steering wheel, 820-steering wheel, 830-tire.
Detailed Description
In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous implementation details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various embodiments of the invention. It should be understood, however, that these implementation details are not to be interpreted as limiting the invention. That is, these implementation details are not necessary in the embodiments of the present invention. In addition, for the sake of simplicity, some conventional structures and elements are shown in the drawings in a simple schematic manner.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an electronically controlled vehicle steering system 10 for a vehicle in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Such as
As shown in fig. 1, the electronically controlled vehicle driving system 10 includes a Controller Area Network (CAN)
The
The database device 500 is located in the vehicle, and at least a plurality of kinds of information 510 and a plurality of communication formats 520 (e.g., communication protocols, procedures, codes or instruction language types) different from each other are stored in the database device 500 for the vehicle function modules 400 respectively. Each category of information 510 for each vehicle function module 400 corresponds to a respective communication format 520, meaning that multiple categories (e.g., brands, standards, or versions) of a particular vehicle function module 400 may be provided in the current market. Each vehicle function module 400 may conform to one of the particular communication formats for transmitting and receiving instructions to perform a particular function of the vehicle.
An
Thus, with the architecture described in the above embodiment, because the instructions from the
Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of an electronically controlled vehicle steering system 10 for a vehicle in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 2, one of the vehicle function modules 400 is, for example, an electric
Thus, when the
On the other hand, when the driver of the vehicle slightly twists the
It should be noted that the
Further, as shown in fig. 1, the
It should be noted that when the driver turns the
More specifically, the controller
For example, the
For example, the database device 500 may be a read-only memory, a flash memory, a floppy disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a flash memory, a magnetic tape, or a database accessible from the cloud of any network. The database apparatus 500 may be any other non-transitory computer readable medium with the same or equivalent functions in the field.
Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating an
For example, when the
In this embodiment, the
FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a method of operating an electronically controlled vehicle steering system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 4, the operating method of the electronically controlled vehicle driving system includes steps 41 to 45. In step 41, the type of the vehicle function module 400 of the vehicle is identified. In step 42, one of the communication formats 520 belonging to the category corresponding to the vehicle function module 400 is compared. In step 43, it is determined whether a first command to go to a vehicle function module from the vehicle's
In step 41, more specifically, each time the
In step 42, more specifically, the type of the
In step 44, more specifically, after receiving the first command from the
Next, the instruction purpose of the first instruction is compared with one of the registered control instructions recorded in the above-described comparison table (not shown), and it is determined whether the instruction purpose of the first instruction matches one of the registered control instructions stored in the database device 500. When it is judged that the instruction purpose of the first instruction matches the one of the registered control instructions stored in the database apparatus 500, the instruction generator is instructed to generate a second instruction having the same instruction purpose as the first instruction and conforming to the communication format.
It should be noted that, for example, all commands that the
For example, the first command is analyzed to perform a rotation of about 120 °, and then the command generator generates a command to rotate the
Finally, the above-described embodiments are not intended to limit the invention, and those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention is subject to the claims.