DRIVING VEHICLES IN CONVOY

• US 20150269845A1
• Filed: 03/20/2015
• Published: 09/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Thales SA
• Original Assignee: Thales SA
• Inventors: CALMETTES, Thibaud, SERANT, Damien, MONNERAT, Michel
• Granted Patent: US 9,786,182 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/046 involving external transmission of data to or from the vehicle, e.g. via telemetry, satellite, Global Positioning System [GPS]
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/03 Cooperating elements; Interaction or communication between different cooperating elements or between cooperating elements and receivers
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0293 Convoy travelling
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/22 Platooning, i.e. convoy of communicating vehicles

Abstract

A method is implemented by computer for the management of a convoy comprising at least two vehicles, each of the at least two vehicles comprising satellite positioning means and vehicle-to-vehicle communication means, the method comprising the determination of the relative positioning of the vehicles, the determination comprising the measurement of the propagation time of a signal between vehicles by the communication means, the clocks associated with the communication means being synchronized via satellite positioning means at a reference clock time. Developments comprise the communication between the vehicles of various data (e.g. measurement uncertainties, signal-to-noise ratios, residual values), the determination of absolute locations, the use of an SBAS-type system, the use of differential GPS, the use of Doppler measurements for the turns or even the exclusion of a failing satellite. A computer program product and associated systems are described.

Claims

1. A method implemented by computer for the management of a convoy comprising at least two vehicles, each of the at least two vehicles comprising satellite positioning means and vehicle-to-vehicle communication means, the method comprising the determination of the relative positioning of said vehicles, said determination comprising the measurement of the propagation time of a signal between vehicles by the communication means, the clocks associated with the communication means being synchronized via satellite positioning means at a reference clock time.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the communication between the vehicles of the uncertainty associated with the reference clock time.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the communication between the vehicles of information relating to the signal-to-noise ratios of the measurements from the satellite positioning means.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the communication between the vehicles of information relating to the signal-to-noise ratio of the communication signal between the vehicles forming the convoy.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the communication between the vehicles of information relating to the measurement residual values on the signals received from the satellite positioning means.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the determination of an absolute location of one or more vehicles forming the convoy.

7. The method according to claim 1, the relative positioning of the vehicles being rid of the data received by a regional augmentation system of the satellite positioning means.

8. The method according to claim 1, the satellite positioning means being satellite positioning means operating in differential mode.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the measurement of frequency of the communication means, the frequency measurement making it possible to detect turns of one or more vehicles.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the calibration of the transmission frequency of the communication means by the satellite positioning means.

11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the measurement of the received power by one or more of the communication means.

12. The method according to claim 1, one or more vehicles forming the convoy sharing the same communication means and/or the same positioning means.

13. The method according to claim 1, a vehicle being authorized to join or leave the convoy of vehicles.

14. The method according to claim 1, an absolute location information item being received from a fixed and authenticated source.

15. The method according to claim 1, comprising the exclusion of a failing satellite for the determination of the positioning of a vehicle and/or for the estimation of the reference clock time.

16. A computer program product for implementing one or more of the steps of the method according to claim 1.

17. A system comprising means for implementing the steps of the method according to claim 1.

18. The system according to claim 17, the communication means using a UWB modulation.