CN106696962B

CN106696962B - Traffic system, vehicle and control method thereof

Info

Publication number: CN106696962B
Application number: CN201611140733.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 不公告发明人
Original assignee: Dongguan Frontier Technology Institute
Current assignee: Foshan Shunde Guangqi Advanced Equipment Co ltd
Priority date: 2016-12-12
Filing date: 2016-12-12
Publication date: 2020-04-14
Anticipated expiration: 2036-12-12
Also published as: CN106696962A

Abstract

The application provides a traffic system, a vehicle and a control method thereof. The traffic system includes: a trunk road for automatic driving of the marshalling vehicles composing the marshalling queue; a branch road for manual driving of an ungrouped vehicle; and a ramp for connecting the main road and the feeder road, wherein the non-grouped vehicles enter the main road via the ramp and are connected to the head or tail of the grouped queue in the automatic driving state so as to enter the grouped queue, the grouped vehicles leave the grouped queue in the automatic driving state and enter the feeder road via the ramp, and a plurality of grouped vehicles are in direct contact in the grouped queue or are kept at a small distance so that the distance between the vehicles is approximately constant. The traffic system grouping queue reduces any doubling of vehicles, thereby improving traffic management efficiency.

Description

Traffic system, vehicle and control method thereof

Technical Field

The invention relates to a traffic system, in particular to a traffic system, a vehicle and a control method thereof for urban roads.

Background

With the increase of urban population and urban traffic flow, traffic problems in cities, particularly large cities, are generally becoming a focus problem. The problems of road network blockage, facility shortage, traffic jam and the like are more and more prominent; the problems of difficult driving, difficult parking, disordered traffic order and the like are increasingly highlighted, and the impact and the pressure on urban traffic management are increasingly greater. The problem of urban road traffic congestion becomes one of bottlenecks that restrict economic development, reduce quality of life of people and weaken economic vitality. Traffic jam causes a reduction in vehicle speed, which in turn exacerbates traffic jam, thereby forming a vicious circle.

The main reasons of traffic congestion are the high-speed development of national economy, the high-speed growth of vehicles and the high-speed growth of cities, and the main reasons of the traffic congestion include the objective reasons of few urban road traffic facilities, less rail traffic, insufficient traffic safety facilities, the uncoordinated development of vehicles and roads, the uncoordinated development of cities and traffic supply and the like, and the artificial reasons of traffic management laggard, the uncoordinated behaviors of road users and the like. For example, random lane changes of vehicles and unfamiliarity of driver roads may cause transient traffic disorganization and even traffic congestion and accidents.

In the existing city angle, the traffic line can be reasonably planned by a vehicle owner through the modes of traffic flow observation, traffic information display screen induction and the like, so that the traffic jam degree is reduced. However, this method is associated with the driver's own reaction ability, information acquisition ability, and ethical qualities. The driver's feedback of information is delayed, insensitive, and the individual driver's unreasonable driving behavior interferes with the traffic state, which may still cause traffic jam.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above, the present invention provides a traffic system, a vehicle and a control method thereof, which implement grouping, connection and separation of vehicles during driving to improve traffic management efficiency.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transportation system comprising: a trunk road for automatic driving of the marshalling vehicles composing the marshalling queue; a branch road for manual driving of an ungrouped vehicle; and a ramp for connecting the main road and the feeder road, wherein the non-grouped vehicles enter the main road via the ramp and are connected to the head or tail of the grouped queue in the automatic driving state so as to enter the grouped queue, the grouped vehicles leave the grouped queue in the automatic driving state and enter the feeder road via the ramp, and a plurality of grouped vehicles are in direct contact in the grouped queue or are kept at a small distance so that the distance between the vehicles is approximately constant.

Preferably, the plurality of consist vehicles are connected to each other using electromagnetic force.

Preferably, the ramp includes a deceleration zone in which the non-grouped vehicle adjusts the vehicle speed and a waiting zone in which it waits for an appropriate timing to enter the main road.

Preferably, the ramp comprises an entering ramp and an exiting ramp for guiding vehicles into and out of the main road, respectively.

Preferably, the included angle between the ramp and the main road and the branch road is set to be less than 60 degrees when the vehicle enters the ramp and leaves the ramp, so that the vehicle can smoothly enter and exit the main road and the branch road.

Preferably, the system further comprises a first indicating device arranged at the entrance of the ramp and a second indicating device arranged at the exit of the ramp, wherein the first indicating device is used for indicating the entrance position, and the second indicating device is used for indicating the transfer of the control right of the vehicle.

Preferably, the second indicating means is for indicating that the transfer of the control right of the vehicle is started or completed.

Preferably, the non-consist vehicle and the consist vehicle make a hand-off of vehicle control during travel of a ramp or a main road.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle comprising: a positioning device for obtaining geo-location data of a vehicle; the distance measurement module is used for measuring the distance between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles to obtain distance data; the communication module is used for carrying out data communication with the traffic management center; an automatic driving system for controlling the direction and speed of the vehicle; and a vehicle controller for generating an execution signal according to the distance data and the geographic positioning data so as to control the action of the automatic driving system, wherein the vehicle controller is used for controlling and generating an instruction according to data provided by the traffic management center so that the vehicle is connected to the head or the tail of the marshalling queue in an automatic driving state so as to enter the marshalling queue or leave the marshalling queue.

Preferably, the method further comprises the following steps: a vehicle body for providing a vehicle exterior shell and a vehicle interior space; and electromagnetic devices installed at front and rear ends of the vehicle body, wherein the electromagnetic devices generate electromagnetic force for connection between a plurality of vehicles in a formation line to each other under the control of the vehicle controller.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle control method comprising: manually driving the vehicle to run on the branch road; entering the main road from the selected ramp; changing from a manual driving state to an automatic driving state; obtaining a marshalling queue distributed by a traffic management center; connecting to the head or tail of the marshalling queue in a parallel mode, and entering the marshalling queue; leaving the consist queue when the consist vehicle is about to reach the destination; changing from an automatic driving state to a manual driving state; and returning to the branch road from the selected ramp.

Preferably, in the marshalling queue, a plurality of marshalling vehicles are in direct contact, or kept at a small distance such that the distance between each other is substantially constant.

Preferably, during travel of the main road, the state is changed from the manual driving state to the automatic driving state, and/or the state is changed from the automatic driving state to the manual driving state.

Preferably, during driving on the ramp, the state is changed from the manual driving state to the automatic driving state and/or from the automatic driving state to the manual driving state.

Preferably, the method further comprises generating electromagnetic force under the control of the vehicle controller for connecting the plurality of vehicles in the formation queue to each other.

Preferably, the method further comprises the following steps: after entering the marshalling queue, utilizing electromagnetic force generated by an electromagnetic device to realize the connection among a plurality of vehicles in the marshalling queue; and releasing the electromagnetic force generated by the electromagnetic device when the vehicle leaves the marshalling queue, so that the vehicle is separated from the adjacent vehicle.

Preferably, the method further comprises the following steps: obtaining geographic positioning data; measuring the distance between the vehicle and surrounding vehicles to obtain distance data; and generating an execution signal according to the distance data and the geographic positioning data so as to control the vehicle action in the automatic driving state.

According to the traffic system provided by the invention, the vehicles running in the main road are grouped through the traffic management center, and the vehicles are controlled by the traffic management center, so that any parallel connection of the vehicles is avoided, and the vehicles in the main road can run rapidly and orderly. And moreover, traffic accidents caused by manual misoperation or traffic jams or traffic accidents caused by non-civilized driving can be avoided, and the limited road resources of urban roads are fully utilized.

Drawings

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a traffic system according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of a vehicle structure according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a vehicle control system according to an embodiment of the invention;

fig. 4 shows a flowchart of a vehicle control method according to an embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

Various embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like elements in the various figures are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals. For purposes of clarity, the various features in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.

The invention is mainly applied to the traffic system of the urban road, and mainly aims to fully utilize the limited road resources of the urban road so as to avoid traffic jam, even traffic accidents and the like caused by human factors such as unconscious driving and the like.

As shown in fig. 1, the traffic system 100 provided by the present invention includes a main road 101, a branch road 102 and a ramp 103, wherein the main road 101 and the branch road 102 are connected by the ramp 103. The arrows shown in the drawing indicate the direction in which the vehicle travels.

In the road hierarchy of the traffic system, a main road 101 is used for automatic driving of grouped vehicles, a branch road 102 is used for manual driving of non-grouped vehicles, and a ramp 103 is used for guiding non-grouped vehicles into the main road 101 and for guiding the grouped vehicles out of the main road 101. After entering the main road 101 via the ramp 103, the vehicles are connected with the existing vehicles in the grouping queue 201 under the control of their own locating devices and connecting devices, thereby entering the grouping queue 201. As the vehicle approaches the destination, the consist vehicle leaves the arterial road 101 via the ramp 103.

In the main road 101, a plurality of formation queues 201 and a plurality of vehicles to be formed 210 waiting to enter therein may be driven. Preferably, the destinations of the plurality of vehicles 210 are substantially the same or close in each grouping queue 201, thereby reducing the number of times the vehicles 210 enter and exit the grouping queue 201. In each grouping queue 201, a plurality of vehicles 210 may be in direct contact, or may be maintained at only a small distance, with a substantially constant distance from each other. The small pitch is for example in the range of 20 cm to 1 m. Preferably, the vehicle performance of the plurality of vehicles 210 is substantially similar in each grouping queue 201, so that it is possible to reduce collisions between the vehicles and maintain the stability of the grouping queue 201 and the reliability of the operation of the vehicles 210 themselves.

The ramp 103 may include a deceleration zone and a waiting zone. After the vehicle 210 enters the ramp 103 at a faster speed, the vehicle can be adjusted to a suitable speed in the deceleration zone. When there are more vehicles 210 traveling on the main road 101 or the branch road 102, the vehicles 210 on the ramp 103 may wait for a suitable time to exit the ramp 103 in the waiting area.

Depending on the role of the ramp 103, it can be distinguished into an entering ramp and an exiting ramp for guiding vehicles into the arterial road 101 and guiding vehicles out of the arterial road 101, respectively. The direction of the entrance ramp extending at the entrance is at an angle of less than 60 degrees with the direction of vehicle travel at the corresponding location on the branch road 102 and the direction of the exit ramp extends at an angle of greater than 120 degrees with the direction of vehicle travel at the corresponding location on the arterial road 101. The direction of departure from the ramp extends at the entrance at an angle of less than 60 degrees to the direction of travel of the vehicle at the corresponding location on the main road 101 and at the exit at an angle of more than 120 degrees to the direction of travel of the vehicle at the corresponding location on the branch road 102. This direction makes the turning angle of the vehicle 210 when entering the ramp and leaving the ramp less than 60 degrees, thereby ensuring that the vehicle is able to enter and exit the main road and the branch road smoothly.

In a preferred embodiment, the ramps 103 are provided with first 111 and second 112 indicating means at the inlet and outlet, respectively. The first and second indicating

devices

111, 112 are used to provide road information to the vehicle 210, for example comprising a display screen for indicating the location of an entrance. Preferably, the first indication device 111 and the second indication device 112 also have a positioning function, such as installing an infrared module or other modules capable of enabling the vehicle 210 to realize an accurate positioning function, and making up for the defect that the vehicle 210 is not accurately positioned by using only satellite positioning. The first indicating device 111 and the second indicating device 112 enable the vehicle 210 to accurately and smoothly enter the ramp 103.

In this embodiment, the vehicle 210 performs the transfer of control right when entering the main road 101. The second indicating device 112 prompts the start of the transfer of control right when the vehicle 210 leaves the ramp 103, and completes the transfer of control right during the travel of the main road, and then the parallel lines enter the grouping queue 201.

In the preferred embodiment, the vehicle 210 is handed off control during the travel of the ramp 103. The first indicating means 111 prompts the start of the transfer of control when the vehicle 210 enters the ramp 103, and the second indicating means 112 verifies that the transfer of control is completed when the vehicle 210 leaves the ramp 103, so that the vehicle 210 is safely switched between the automatic driving and the manual driving states.

As shown in fig. 2, the vehicle 210 includes a vehicle body 211 and ranging modules 212 disposed at front and rear ends of the vehicle body 211. The vehicle body 211 is used to provide a vehicle exterior and a vehicle interior space. For example, the ranging module 212 is at least one selected from a radar module, a laser ranging module, an infrared ranging module, and an optical image ranging module. The ranging module 212 may provide high real-time and accurate range information compared to a satellite positioning device. The vehicles 210 are automatically controlled according to the distance information so that they can enter and leave the grouping queue 201 in parallel. After entering the grouping queue 201, a constant distance between the vehicles is maintained according to the distance information. Preferably, the vehicle 210 may further include electromagnetic devices 213 provided at front and rear ends of the vehicle body 211 so as to connect and fix adjacent vehicles in the grouping queue 201 to each other using electromagnetic force.

As shown in fig. 3, the vehicle control system 220 of the vehicle 210 includes not only the distance measuring module 212 and the electromagnetic device 213, but also a vehicle controller 221, a positioning device 222, an automatic driving system 223, and a communication module 224. The positioning device 222 is, for example, a geographic information positioning system (GPS) for obtaining geographic positioning data of the vehicle. The autopilot system 223 includes, for example, a directional control device, a throttle control device, and a brake control device. The vehicle controller 221 is, for example, an on-board computer for processing the distance data and the geolocation data obtained by the sensors and generating execution signals for controlling the actions of the electromagnetic device 213 and the autopilot system 223. The communication module 224 is, for example, a mobile communication device supporting a wireless cellular network protocol for data communication with a driver and a traffic management center to send and receive data and instructions.

In this embodiment, the vehicle controller 221 may switch between an automatic driving state and a manual driving state. In the manual driving state, the driver controls the steering wheel, the accelerator, the brake, and the like of the vehicle, and the vehicle controller 221 stops transmitting the execution signal to the solenoid 213 and the automatic driving system 223. In the autonomous driving state, the vehicle controller 221 obtains control of the vehicles, and the vehicle controller 221 transmits an execution signal to the electromagnetic device 213 and the autonomous driving system 223, controls the throttle and the direction of the vehicles according to the geo-location data and the distance data, thereby completing the merging of the vehicles into and out of the formation queue, and maintaining the distance between the adjacent vehicles substantially constant in the formation queue.

As shown in fig. 4, according to the vehicle control method of the present invention, the combination of the traffic management center, the road guidance system, and the automatic driving function of the vehicle is used to realize the grouping, connection, and separation of the vehicles during the driving process.

In step S01, before the vehicle 210 is driven to depart, the driver sets a destination by the mobile phone software or the vehicle control system 220, and transmits the vehicle identification data and the destination data to the traffic management center.

In step S02, the driver starts the vehicle 210, and the vehicle 210 travels on the branch road 102 in the manual driving state. At the entrance of the ramp 103, a first indicating device 111 indicates the entrance position. The location device 222 of the vehicle 210 may provide its geographic location information for planning a driving route so that the driver may plan ahead to select an incoming ramp.

In step S03, the driver drives the vehicle 210 into the selected ramp 103. The vehicle 210 may be adjusted to a suitable speed in the ramp 103 and wait for a suitable time to exit to enter the arterial road 101. At the exit of the ramp 103, the second indicator 112 prompts the start of the transfer of control.

In step S04, the vehicle 210 completes the transfer of the control right during the travel of the main road, thereby shifting from the manual driving state to the automatic driving state. In the autonomous driving state, the vehicle controller 221 obtains the control right of the vehicle, and the vehicle controller 221 transmits an execution signal to the electromagnetic device 213 and the autonomous driving system 223 to control the accelerator and the direction of the vehicle according to the geo-location data and the distance data.

In step S05, the vehicle 210 transmits the vehicle state data to the traffic management center to request the designation of the formation queue. The vehicle state data includes automatic driving state data, vehicle performance data, and the like. For example, on the main road 101, the formation queue travels on a high-priority lane at a high speed, and the vehicle to be formed travels on a low-priority lane at a low speed. The traffic management center receives information of all vehicles to be grouped and a grouping queue traveling on the main road 101.

In step S06, the traffic management center assigns a grouping queue to the vehicle to be grouped. According to the destination data and the vehicle performance data of the vehicles to be marshalled, the marshalling queue with the destination data and the vehicle performance data which are closest to each other from the rear is selected and allocated to the vehicles to be marshalled. As described above, the destinations of a plurality of vehicles in the consist queue are substantially the same or close, and the number of times a vehicle enters and exits the consist queue can be reduced. The plurality of vehicles in the formation train have substantially the same vehicle speed and maintain a substantially constant spacing from each other.

In step S07, upon arrival of the designated formation queue, the vehicles to be formed merge from the low-priority lane to the high-priority lane, and then enter the formation queue. For example, the vehicle to be marshalled follows the last vehicle in the marshalling queue and is connected to the tail thereof. In an alternative embodiment, the vehicle to be marshalled leads the first vehicle in the marshalling queue and is connected to its head.

During entering the marshalling queue, the vehicle to be marshalled measures the distance between the vehicle and the surrounding vehicles by using the ranging module of the vehicle. And the vehicle control system of the vehicle to be marshalled automatically controls according to the distance information, so that the vehicle can be parallelly connected to enter a marshalling queue. After entering the consist queue, the vehicle control system of the consist vehicles maintains a constant distance between the vehicles according to the distance information.

The vehicles in the formation may be in direct contact or may be maintained at only a small distance, with a substantially constant distance from each other. In a preferred embodiment, after entering the consist queue, a vehicle control system of the consist vehicle activates the electromagnetic device, generating an electromagnetic force. The adjacent vehicles in the grouping queue are connected and fixed to each other using electromagnetic force.

In step S08, the traffic management center instructs the selected vehicle to leave the consist queue when the grouped vehicle is about to reach the destination. In the case where the grouped vehicles are connected to each other using electromagnetic force, the grouped vehicles located at the front and rear ends of the selected vehicle release the electromagnetic force from the selected vehicle. The selected vehicle is merged from the high priority lane to the low priority lane leaving the consist queue. The gaps in the consist queue due to the departure of the selected vehicle can be filled by a brief acceleration of the following vehicle, so that the complete consist queue is still maintained.

In step S09, the vehicle completes the transfer of the control right during the travel of the main road, thereby shifting from the automatic driving state to the manual driving state. The driver controls the steering wheel, throttle, brakes, etc. of the vehicle, and the vehicle controller stops sending the execution signal to the electromagnetic and autonomous driving system.

In step S10, the driver drives the vehicle into the selected ramp. The vehicle can be adjusted to a suitable speed in the ramp and then enter the branch road.

According to the vehicle control method provided by the invention, the vehicles running in the main road are grouped through the traffic management center, and the vehicles are controlled by the traffic management center, so that any lane change of the vehicles is avoided, and the vehicles in the main road can run rapidly and orderly. And moreover, traffic accidents caused by manual misoperation or traffic jams or traffic accidents caused by non-civilized driving can be avoided, and the limited road resources of urban roads are fully utilized.

In the above-described embodiment, the switching of the vehicle control right in the main road is described. And join or leave the consist queue using the parallel of vehicles of different priorities. In an alternative embodiment, the switching of the vehicle control right is performed in the ramp, the state of the vehicle control right is verified at the exit of the ramp, and only the vehicle in the automatic driving state is allowed to enter the main road. That is, all the vehicles running on the main road are in the automatic driving state, so that the safety of the vehicles running on the main road can be improved.

It is noted that, herein, relational terms such as first and second, and the like may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. Also, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising an … …" does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

Finally, it should be noted that: it should be understood that the above examples are only for clearly illustrating the present invention and are not intended to limit the embodiments. Other variations and modifications will be apparent to persons skilled in the art in light of the above description. And are neither required nor exhaustive of all embodiments. And obvious variations or modifications of the invention may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A transportation system comprising:

a trunk road for automatic driving of the marshalling vehicles composing the marshalling queue;

a branch road for manual driving of an ungrouped vehicle;

the ramp is used for connecting the main road and the branch road,

wherein the non-grouped vehicles enter the trunk via the ramp, are connected to the head or tail of the grouped queue in an autonomous driving state, and thus enter the grouped queue,

the marshalling vehicle leaves the marshalling queue in the automatic driving state, enters the branch road through the ramp,

in the marshalling queue, a plurality of marshalling vehicles are in direct contact, or kept at a small distance, so that the distance between each other is approximately constant,

the ramp comprises a deceleration zone and a waiting zone, wherein the non-grouped vehicles adjust the speed in the deceleration zone, and drive into the main road at a proper time in the waiting zone;

the system also comprises a first indicating device arranged at the entrance of the ramp and a second indicating device arranged at the exit of the ramp, wherein the first indicating device is used for indicating the entrance position, and the second indicating device is used for indicating the transfer of the control right of the vehicle;

the second indicating device is used for indicating the start or the completion of the transfer of the vehicle control right, and the first indicating device and the second indicating device are both provided with infrared modules for positioning.

2. The transit system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of consist vehicles are connected to each other using electromagnetic force.

3. The transit system of claim 1, wherein the ramp includes an entering ramp and an exiting ramp for directing vehicles into and out of the trunk, respectively.

4. The traffic system of claim 3, wherein the included angle between the ramp and the main road and the branch road is set to be less than 60 degrees when the vehicle enters the ramp and leaves the ramp, so as to ensure that the vehicle can smoothly enter and exit the main road and the branch road.

5. The transit system of claim 1, wherein the non-consist vehicle and the consist vehicle are in hand of vehicle control during travel of a ramp or a arterial road.