Platoon travel system

• US 9,396,661 B2
• Filed: 04/10/2014
• Issued: 07/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Okamoto, Kazuya
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheung, Calvin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Martinez Borrero, Luis A
• Application Number:
  US14/249,729
• Publication Number:
  US 20140316865A1
• Time in Patent Office: 831 Days
• Field of Search: 701/117, 701/1, 701/118, 701/119, 701/70, 701/36, 701/22, 701/102, 701/2, 701/20, 701/96, 701/23, 701/512, 701/71, 705/7.31, 705/14.1, 705/14.26, 705/14.53, 340/916, 340/932, 340/903, 340/989, 340/990
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0293 Convoy travelling
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/22 Platooning, i.e. convoy of communicating vehicles

Abstract

A platoon travel system organizes and performs a platoon travel of plural vehicles along a preset travel route. The system has a grouping unit that divides the plural vehicles into a top group and a tail end group based on projection area information of the vehicles, and groups vehicles with a projection area in a first range to the top group and vehicles with a projection area in a second range to the tail end group, which is less than the first range. A final position determination unit determines a position of each of the plural vehicles in the vehicle groups based on the depart point information, positions the top group vehicles in an ascending order of depart point distances, and positions the tail end group vehicles in a descending order of depart point distances, thereby preventing deterioration of whole platoon energy consumption.

Claims

1. A platoon travel system for organizing a platoon of plural vehicles and performing a platoon travel of the plural vehicles along a preset travel route,

the platoon travel system comprising:

at least one processor located in an Electronic Control Unit (ECU), and a memory, the at least one processor is configured to, based on executing instructions stored in the memory;

acquire, by a first acquisition unit, from each of the plural vehicles, projection area information which includes a projection area of each vehicle;

acquire, by a second acquisition unit, from each of the plural vehicles, depart point information which includes a depart point at which each vehicle is to depart from the preset travel route of the platoon;

divide, by a grouping unit, the plural vehicles into a top group and a tail end group based on the projection area information, among which the vehicles with the projection area in a first range belong to the top group and the vehicles with the projection area in a second range belong to the tail end group, and the second range is less than the first range;

determine, by a final position determination unit, an in-group position of each of the plural vehicles in the vehicle groups based on the depart point information;

position the top group vehicles in an ascending order of depart point distances based on the depart point information;

position the tail end group vehicles in a descending order of depart point distances based on the depart point information;

transmit, via a transmitter cooperative with the ECU, to the each of the plural vehicles, platoon information, which reflects the position of each of the plural vehicles as determined by the final position determination unit and inter-vehicle distance; and

control a self-vehicle of the plural vehicles, via a travel system component cooperative with the ECU of the self-vehicle, according to the position of the self-vehicle as determined by the final position determination unit, which is reflected in the platoon information.

2. The platoon travel system of claim 1, wherein

the grouping unit determines, based on the projection area information of a joining vehicle joining in the platoon, a join-in group in which the joining vehicle joins,

the final position determination unit determines a join position of the joining vehicle in the join-in group based on the depart point information of the joining vehicle, and

a first drive unit is provided, performing a speed reduction control of the vehicles that are positioned behind the join position to reserve a join space at the join position in the platoon.

3. The platoon travel system of claim 2, further comprising:

a join-in permission prohibition determination unit determining whether a join-in permission prohibition is given to the joining vehicle when the joining vehicle joins in the platoon, wherein

the join-in permission prohibition determination unit determines that the join-in of the joining vehicle is permitted when a depart point of the joining vehicle is within a preset range from a depart point of each of vehicles in the platoon, and

the join-in permission prohibition determination unit determines that the join-in of the joining vehicle is prohibited when the depart point of the joining vehicle is not within the preset range from the depart point of each of vehicles in the platoon.

4. The platoon travel system of claim 2, further comprising:

a join-in permission prohibition determination unit determining whether a join-in permission prohibition is given to the joining vehicle when the joining vehicle joins in the platoon, wherein

the join-in permission prohibition determination unit determines that the join-in of the joining vehicle is permitted when a number of vehicles currently participating in the platoon is equal to or less than a preset value, and

the join-in permission prohibition determination unit determines that the join-in of the joining vehicle is permitted when the number of vehicles currently participating in the platoon is greater than the preset value.

5. The platoon travel system of claim 1, further comprising:

a second drive unit performing a speed reduction control of vehicles ahead of a post-departure space to reduce the post-departure space, when the post-departure space is formed by a departure of a vehicle from the platoon.

6. The platoon travel system of claim 1, wherein

the grouping unit divides, based on the projection area information, the plural vehicles into the top group, the tail end group, and a middle group that is positioned in between the top group and the tail end group, and

the grouping unit groups, in the middle group, vehicles having a lesser projection area than the first range and larger than the second range.

7. The platoon travel system of claim 6, wherein

the final position determination unit determines vehicle positions in the middle group in the ascending order of depart point distances from the tail end of the platoon when all vehicles in the follow group have departed from the platoon.

8. The platoon travel system of claim 7, further comprising:

a third drive unit performing a drive control of the vehicles in the middle group for realizing the vehicle positions determined by the final position determination unit when all vehicles in the follow group have departed from the platoon, wherein

the third drive unit performs the drive control during a travel of the vehicles.

9. The platoon travel system of claim 8, wherein

the third drive unit performs the drive control at a restart time after a parking of all vehicles in the platoon at a parking space.

10. The platoon travel system of claim 1, further comprising:

a save unit saving a top travel record which includes a travel history of a self-vehicle traveling at a top of the platoon; and

an incentive unit providing an incentive according to the top travel record in the travel history.

11. The platoon travel system of claim 10, wherein

the incentive unit is provided in a control center disposed externally outside of the vehicle and is capable of wirelessly communicating with the vehicle, and

a communication unit is provided in the vehicle, performing communication with the control center for transmission of the top travel record to the control center.

12. The platoon travel system of claim 11, wherein

the control center is an electric toll collection system, and

the incentive unit gives, as the incentive, a preset monetary discount for a highway toll.

13. The platoon travel system of claim 11, wherein

the control center is a center of a national or local government, and

the incentive unit gives, as the incentive, a preset deduction of vehicle-related tax.

14. The platoon travel system of claim 10, further comprising:

an approval unit providing an approval by mutually examining contents of the top travel record among the vehicles in the platoon, wherein

when the contents of the top travel record are approved, the incentive unit gives the incentive based on an approval result of the approval unit.

15. A platoon travel system for organizing a platoon of plural vehicles and performing a platoon travel of the plural vehicles along a preset travel route,

the platoon travel system comprising:

at least one processor located in an Electronic Control Unit (ECU), and a memory, the at least one processor is configured to, based on executing instructions stored in the memory;

acquire, by a first acquisition unit, from each of the plural vehicles, projection area information which includes a projection area of each vehicle;

acquire, by a second acquisition unit, from each of the plural vehicles, remaining energy information which includes an amount of remaining energy left in each vehicle;

divide, by a grouping unit, the plural vehicles into a top group and a tail end group based on the projection area information among which the vehicles with the projection area in a first range belong to the top group and the vehicles with the projection area in a second range belong to the tail end group, and in which the second range is less than the first range;

determine, by a final position determination unit, an in-group position of each of the plural vehicles in the vehicle groups based on the remaining energy information;

position the top group vehicles in a descending order of the remaining energies;

position the tail end group vehicles in an ascending order of the remaining energies;

transmit, via a transmitter cooperative with the ECU, to the each of the plural vehicles, platoon information, which reflects the position of each of the plural vehicles as determined by the final position determination unit and inter-vehicle distance; and

control a self-vehicle of the plural vehicles, via a travel system component cooperative with the ECU of the self-vehicle, according to the position of the self-vehicle as determined by the final position determination unit, which is reflected in the platoon information.

16. A platoon travel system for organizing a platoon of plural vehicles and performing a platoon travel of the plural vehicles along a preset travel route,

the platoon travel system comprising:

at least one processor located in an Electronic Control Unit (ECU), and a memory, the at least one processor is configured to, based on executing instructions stored in the memory;

acquire, by a first acquisition unit, from each of the plural vehicles, projection area information which includes a projection area of each vehicle;

acquire, by a second acquisition unit, from each of the plural vehicles, horsepower output information which includes a horsepower output of each vehicle;

divide, by a grouping unit, the plural vehicles into a top group and a tail end group based on the projection area information among which the vehicles with the projection area in a first range belong to the top group and the vehicles with the projection area in a second range belong to the tail end group, and in which the second range is less than the first range; and

determine, by a final position determination unit, an in-group position of each of the plural vehicles in the vehicle groups based on the horsepower output information;

position the top group vehicles in a descending order of the horsepower outputs;

position the tail end group vehicles in an ascending order of the horsepower outputs;

transmit, via a transmitter cooperative with the ECU, to the each of the plural vehicles, platoon information, which reflects the position of each of the plural vehicles as determined by the final position determination unit and inter-vehicle distance; and

control a self-vehicle of the plural vehicles, via a travel system component cooperative with the ECU of the self-vehicle, according to the position of the self-vehicle as determined by the final position determination unit, which is reflected in the platoon information.