Method for Platooning of Vehicles in an Automated Vehicle System

• US 20110184596A1
• Filed: 05/26/2009
• Published: 07/28/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Posco Holdings Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Posco Holdings Incorporated
• Inventors: Andreasson, Ingmar
• Granted Patent: US 8,682,511 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/19
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 23/34 for indicating the distance between vehicles or trains by the transmission of signals therebetween
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 27/04 Automatic systems, e.g. controlled by train; Change-over to manual control
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 27/20 Trackside control of safe travel of vehicle or train, e.g. braking curve calculation
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/123 indicating the position of vehicles, e.g. scheduled vehicles; Managing passenger vehicles circulating according to a fixed timetable, e.g. buses, trains, tramstransmission of navigation instructions to vehicles G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/22 Platooning, i.e. convoy of communicating vehicles

Abstract

Disclosed is a method of increasing track capacity in an automated vehicle system, the automated vehicle system comprising a network of tracks along which vehicles are adapted to travel, the network comprising at least one merge point at which at least two up stream tracks merge to form a downstream track, at least one diverge point at which one upstream track diverges to form at least two down-stream tracks and a plurality of stations at which passengers may board and/or disembark from the vehicles; wherein the method comprises controlling vehicles so as to cause empty vehicles to travel as at least one sequence of vehicles defined as a platoon; and controlling the empty vehicles of the at least one sequence to travel with a first safety distance between each other, the first safety distance being shorter than a second safety distance between vehicles being at least partially loaded.

Claims

1. A method of increasing track capacity in an automated vehicle system, the automated vehicle system comprising a network of tracks along which vehicles are adapted to travel, the network comprising at least one merge point at which at least two upstream tracks merge to form a downstream track, at least one diverge point at which one upstream track diverges to form at least two downstream tracks and a plurality of stations at which passengers may board and/or disembark from the vehicles;

wherein the method comprises controlling vehicles so as to cause empty vehicles to travel as at least one sequence of empty vehicles; and

controlling the empty vehicles of the at least one sequence to travel with a first safety distance between each other, the first safety distance being shorter than a second safety distance between vehicles being at least partially loaded.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein controlling the empty vehicles comprises dynamically forming said sequence of vehicles.

3. A method according to claim 2, the method further comprising:

defining a merge control zone associated with the merge point, the merge control zone defining at least respective sections of the upstream tracks;

detecting a vehicle entering the merge control zone on a first one of the upstream tracks, the vehicle being a vehicle of a sequence of one or more vehicles approaching the merge point on said first upstream track;

allocating a passage time to the detected vehicle, the passage time being indicative of a time at which the vehicle is scheduled to pass the merge point;

allocating the passage time is based on a merge priority assigned to the vehicle according to a predetermined set of merge priority rules;

controlling a speed of the vehicle responsive to the allocated passage time.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the method comprises assigning merge priorities responsive to a load status of the vehicle and at least one other vehicle in the merge control zone.

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein the method comprises assigning merge priorities so as to form a sequence of vehicles having the same load status.

6. A method according to claim 3, wherein the method comprises assigning a higher merge priority to an empty vehicle than to a loaded vehicle, when a vehicle passing the merge point directly preceding said empty vehicle is an empty vehicle.

7. A method according to claim 3, wherein the method comprises assigning a higher merge priority to a loaded vehicle than to an empty vehicle, when a vehicle passing the merge point directly preceding said loaded vehicle is a loaded vehicle.

8. A method according to claim 7, wherein the method comprises selecting loaded vehicles to pass the merge point until the at least two upstream tracks have empty vehicles oncoming to the merge point.

9. A method according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises controlling an empty vehicle to accelerate so as to catch up with an empty vehicle running in front.

10. A method according to claim 9, wherein the method further comprises merging vehicles from a number of upstream tracks into a downstream track, where an empty vehicle has accelerated and thereby provided a gap with free space on the downstream track for accommodating said vehicles from said number of upstream tracks.

11. A method according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises assigning a path priority to a path at diverges at which more than one path leads to a destination of a vehicle, wherein assigning the path priority comprises assigning a higher path priority to a path responsive to a load status of respective previous vehicles travelling along the more than one paths.

12. A method according to 11, wherein the method comprises directing an empty vehicle to a path where the empty vehicle will form a platoon with at least one other empty vehicle.

13. A method according to claim 11, wherein the method comprises selecting vehicle destinations so that platoons are formed on the paths, when redistributing empty vehicles in the network.

14. A method according to claim 1, the method comprises assigning dispatch priorities to vehicles scheduled to be dispatched from a station, wherein dispatch priorities are assigned responsive to the load status of the vehicles.

15. A method according to claim 14, wherein the method comprises dispatching a sequence of at least two empty vehicles together in a platoon, the dispatching time being a scheduled dispatching time assigned to the front vehicle in the sequence of the at least two empty vehicles.

16. A method according to claim 14, wherein the method comprises selecting an empty vehicle to be dispatched in a sequence of empty vehicles, as long as there are empty vehicles at the station to be dispatched.

17. A method according to claim 14, wherein the method comprises selecting a loaded vehicle to be dispatched in a sequence of loaded vehicles, as long as there are loaded vehicles at the station to be dispatched.

18. A method according to claim 1, wherein the automated vehicle system is a personal rapid transit system.

20. A method according to claim 2, wherein the method comprises controlling an empty vehicle to accelerate so as to catch up with an empty vehicle running in front.

19. A control system for increasing track capacity in an automated vehicle system, the automated vehicle system comprising a network of tracks along which vehicles are adapted to travel, the network comprising at least one merge point at which at least two upstream tracks merge to form a downstream track, at least one diverge point at which one upstream track diverges to form at least two downstream tracks and a plurality of stations at which passengers may board and/or disembark from the vehicles;

wherein the control system comprises;

means for controlling vehicles so as to cause empty vehicles to travel as at least one sequence of empty vehicles; and

means for controlling the empty vehicles of the at least one sequence to travel with a first safety distance between each other, the first safety distance being shorter than a second safety distance between vehicles being at least partially loaded.