ZONE CONTROL UNIT FOR A VEHICLE

Abstract

A vehicle includes a plurality of zone control units that each comprise an inertial measurement unit, and wherein each zone control unit is configured to provide inertial measurement data obtained from its respective inertial measurement unit to other vehicle components via a vehicle bus.

Claims

1. A vehicle, comprising a plurality of zone control units, wherein each zone control unit comprises an inertial measurement unit, and wherein each zone control unit is configured to provide inertial measurement data obtained from its respective inertial measurement unit to other vehicle components via a vehicle bus.

2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of zone control units are distributed spatially over the vehicle such that the plurality of zone control units are at least in part distributed symmetrically over the vehicle.

3. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle is configured to generate an inertial measurement data fusion.

4. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle is configured to calculate a dynamic vehicle behavior on a basis of the inertial measurement data and/or an inertial measurement data fusion generated by the vehicle.

5. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle is configured to detect a malfunctioning of the vehicle and/or a vehicle component, and/or a zone control unit, and/or a zone control unit element, and/or an inertial measurement unit, on a basis of the inertial measurement data and/or an inertial measurement data fusion generated by the vehicle.

6. A method comprising: querying a plurality of zone control units in the vehicle for current inertial measurement data; and providing the current inertial measurement data to at least one other vehicle component via a vehicle bus.

7. The method according to claim 6, comprising: regulating a trajectory for the vehicle using the inertial measurement data.

8. The method according to claim 6, comprising: detecting a malfunctioning of at least one of the vehicle, a malfunctioning of vehicle components, a malfunctioning of a zone control unit, a malfunctioning of a zone control unit element, and/or a malfunctioning of an inertial measurement unit on a basis of the inertial measurement data.

9. The method according to claim 6, comprising: calculating a displacement error with regard to a vehicle's center of gravity on a basis of the inertial measurement data.

10. The method according to claim 6, comprising: generating an inertial measurement data fusion from the current inertial measurement data from the plurality of zone control units.

11. The method according to claim 10, comprising: regulating a trajectory for the vehicle using the inertial measurement data fusion.

12. The method according to claim 10, comprising: detecting a malfunctioning of at least one of the vehicle, a malfunctioning of vehicle components, a malfunctioning of a zone control unit, a malfunctioning of a zone control unit element, and/or a malfunctioning of an inertial measurement unit on a basis of the inertial measurement data fusion.

13. The method according to claim 10, comprising: calculating a displacement error with regard to a vehicle's center of gravity on a basis of the inertial measurement data fusion.

14. The method according to claim 10, comprising: selecting inertial measurement data from the current inertial measurement data from the plurality of the zone control units and/or the inertial measurement data fusion for further use in the vehicle and/or in a model of the vehicle.

15. The method according to claim 14, comprising: regulating a trajectory for the vehicle using the selected inertial measurement data.

16. The method according to claim 14, comprising: detecting a malfunctioning of at least one of the vehicle, a malfunctioning of vehicle components, a malfunctioning of a zone control unit, a malfunctioning of a zone control unit element, and/or a malfunctioning of an inertial measurement unit on a basis of the selected inertial measurement data.

17. The method according to claim 14, comprising: calculating a displacement error with regard to a vehicle's center of gravity on a basis of the selected inertial measurement data.

18. The method according to claim 6, wherein an artificial intelligence process is applied to at least one of the steps of the method.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer program code for carrying out the method according to claim 6.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] The invention shall be explained in brief below in reference to the drawings, wherein:

[0021] FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of a vehicle according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, comprising three zone control units according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0022] FIG. 2 shows a flow chart for a first embodiment of a method according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0023] FIG. 3 shows a flow chart for a second embodiment of a method according to various embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0024] FIG. 4 shows a flow chart for a third embodiment of a method according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of a vehicle 4 according to the present disclosure, comprising three of the zone control units 1.1,1.2,1.3 as set forth in the present disclosure. The first zone control unit 1.1 comprises a first inertial measurement unit 2.1. The second zone control unit 1.2 comprises a second inertial measurement unit 2.2. the third zone control unit 1.3 comprises a third inertial measurement unit 2.3. The vehicle 4 also comprises a vehicle control system 3 that can be designed as an AD/ADAS control system. “AD” stands for “Autonomous Driving” and “ADAS” stands for “Advanced Driver Assistance System” here. The vehicle control system 3 and the zone control units 21.1,1.2, 1.3 are interconnected via a vehicle bus 5. Inertial measurement data obtained from the inertial measurement units 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 can thus be fed to vehicle bus 5 and then made available to the vehicle control system 3. The first zone control unit 1.1 is located in the front end of the vehicle 4, in particular near the front right wheel of the vehicle 4. The second zone control unit 1.2 is located in the rear end of the vehicle 4, in particular near a right rear wheel of the vehicle 4. The third zone control unit 1.3 is also in the rear end of the vehicle 4, in this case near the left rear wheel of the vehicle 4. The individual zones are not indicated in FIG. 1 for purposes of clarity.

[0026] FIG. 2 shows a flow chart for a first embodiment of a method according to the present disclosure. The method in FIG. 2 shows an inertial measurement data query step S1 and an inertial measurement data provision step S2, which can both be carried out in a loop. Inertial measurement data are queried from inertial measurement units located in zone control units in a vehicle (such as that shown in FIG. 1, for example) in the inertial measurement data query step S1, in particular via a vehicle bus. These inertial measurement data are subsequently made available in the vehicle bus in the inertial measurement data provision step S2, such that other vehicle components such as control systems, sensors, or actuators can access them.

[0027] FIG. 3 shows a flow chart for a second embodiment of a method according to the present disclosure. The method in FIG. 3 shows the inertial measurement data query step S1, and the inertial measurement data provision step S2, which were shown in FIG. 2. The method in FIG. 3 also comprises an inertial measurement data fusion step S3, an inertial measurement data selection step S4, and a trajectory regulating step S5. An inertial measurement data fusion is generated in the inertial measurement data fusion step on the basis of the inertial measurement data obtained in the inertial measurement data provision step S2, which comprises a new inertial measurement data dataset that has been generated on the basis of the inertial measurement data from the individual zone control units. The inertial measurement data from the individual zone control units can also be referred to as “raw data.” A single inertial measurement data dataset is subsequently selected for further use in the inertial measurement data selection step S4 from the raw data and the inertial measurement data fusion. This selected inertial measurement data is then used in the trajectory regulating step S5 for regulating the trajectory of the vehicle in which the method shown in FIG. 3 is carried out. The method shown in FIG. 3 also runs in a loop, i.e. continuously.

[0028] FIG. 4 shows a flow diagram for a third embodiment of a method according to the present disclosure. The method shown in FIG. 4 is very similar to the method shown in FIG. 3. Instead of the trajectory regulating step S5, however, the method in FIG. 4 comprises an error detection step S6. The selected inertial measurement data are used in this error detection step S6 to detect a malfunctioning of the vehicle and/or an incorrect regulation of the vehicle, and/or failure of a vehicle component. The method shown in FIG. 4 also runs continuously in the vehicle, as indicated by a loop in FIG. 4.

[0029] In principle, all of the exemplary embodiments and/or steps can be combined with one another unless this is otherwise technologically impossible.

[0030] The invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments described herein. The scope of protection is defined by the claims.

[0031] In principle, all of the methods described in the description or the claims can be carried out by devices that comprise means for carrying out the respective steps of these methods.

REFERENCE SYMBOLS

[0032] 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 zone control units

[0033] 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 inertial measurement units

[0034] 3 vehicle control system (in particular AD/ADAS control systems)

[0035] 4 vehicle

[0036] 5 vehicle bus