Patent Description:
At present, traditional parking systems include a mechanical parking system, an electronic parking brake (EPB) system, a hydraulic parking system, and the like.

The hydraulic parking system is a technology that implements vehicle braking in a hydraulic manner. Generally, the hydraulic parking system is provided as an extension of an electronic stability program (ESP) of a vehicle. In a hydraulic parking mode, a processor measures levelness of the vehicle and a torque of wheels through a series of sensors, make a determination on a flow trend of the vehicle, and apply an appropriate braking force to the wheels to make the vehicle stand still; and when the vehicle starts to move forward, an electronic system detects parameters such as a braking force of the accelerator to determine whether the brake is released. This is especially suitable for use in urban areas with frequent traffic lights or scenarios with many up and down slopes, which can greatly simplify user operations and provide users with convenience. However, a separate hydraulic parking system cannot meet a functional safety backup requirement when parking fails under an automatic driving condition, and maintaining a high hydraulic pressure for a long time may cause problems such as overheating of a brake motor.

The EPB system is a technology that implements parking braking by using an electronic control method, and its function is similar to a mechanical lever handbrake. The EPB system can automatically apply parking braking after an engine is turned off. In addition, with the EPB system, a user does not need to manually turn off an electronic handbrake when a vehicle starts again, because the electronic handbrake is automatically turned off when the vehicle starts by stepping on an accelerator. This makes starting and stopping of a vehicle more convenient and reliable. However, the EPB system has relatively long response time of pulling up and releasing, failing to implement same quick response as the hydraulic parking system. Moreover, the EPB system cannot implement pressure build-up control with a slop like the hydraulic parking system. Therefore, use of the EPB system alone may have problems such as slippage and long response time. <CIT> relates to a brake control device capable of reducing a load due to overlapping generation of a hydraulic braking force and a parking braking force to a predetermined vehicle wheel, while maintaining a steady state more reliably.

According to an aspect of the invention, a vehicle control method is provided. The vehicle control method includes: receiving a first control instruction; sending a first output signal based on the first control instruction, wherein the first output signal is used to instruct a hydraulic parking system to start pressure build-up; and sending a second output signal upon the hydraulic parking system reaching a predetermined first state, where the second output signal is used to instruct an electronic parking system to start to be pulled up or released; sending a third output signal upon the electronic parking system reaching a predetermined second state, the third output signal is used to instruct the hydraulic parking system to start to release pressure.

As an alternative or addition to the foregoing solution, in the vehicle control method according to an embodiment of the invention, the first control instruction includes a stopping instruction and a starting instruction. When the first control instruction is the stopping instruction, the second output signal is used to instruct the electronic parking system to start to be pulled up. When the first control instruction is the starting instruction, the second output signal is used to instruct the electronic parking system to start to be released.

As an alternative or addition to the foregoing solution, in the vehicle control method according to an embodiment of the invention, when the first control instruction is the stopping instruction, the first state of the hydraulic parking system includes that pressure build-up has been completed for a first time threshold and pressure build-up has not been completed after a second time threshold.

As an alternative or addition to the foregoing solution, in the vehicle control method according to an embodiment of the invention, when the first control instruction is the stopping instruction, the second state of the electronic parking system includes that the electronic parking system has been fully pulled up for a third time threshold.

As an alternative or addition to the foregoing solution, in the vehicle control method according to an embodiment of the invention, when the first control instruction is the starting instruction, the first state of the hydraulic parking system includes that pressure build-up has been completed for a fourth time threshold.

As an alternative or addition to the foregoing solution, in the vehicle control method according to an embodiment of the invention, the sending of the second output signal is further upon a starting torque being greater than a torque required to overcome a slope.

As an alternative or addition to the foregoing solution, in the vehicle control method according to an embodiment of the invention, when the first control instruction is the starting instruction, the second state of the electronic parking system includes that the electronic parking system has been fully released for a fifth time threshold.

According to another example, a vehicle control device is provided. The vehicle control device includes a receiving apparatus, configured to receive a first control instruction. The vehicle control device further includes a sending apparatus, configured to: send a first output signal based on the first control instruction, and send a second output signal upon a hydraulic parking system reaching a predetermined first state. The first output signal is used to instruct the hydraulic parking system to start pressure build-up, and the second output signal is used to instruct an electronic parking system to start to be pulled up or released.

According to another aspect of the invention, a vehicle control device is provided, which includes a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored on the memory and executable on the processor. When the computer program is executed by the processor, the vehicle control method described above is implemented.

According to still another aspect of the invention, a vehicle is provided, and the vehicle includes any one of the vehicle control devices described above.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program is provided. When the computer program is executed by the processor, the vehicle control method described above is implemented.

According to the vehicle control solution provided in the invention, a hydraulic parking system and an electronic parking system are controlled in a coupled manner in vehicle starting and stopping conditions, implementing a function backup in a case of a single function failure, and providing a user with highly comfortable, reliable, and safe vehicle starting and stopping experience.

The above and other objectives and advantages of the invention will be clearer and more thorough from the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings.

It should be noted that the terms such as "first" and "second" herein are intended to distinguish between similar objects, and do not necessarily describe a sequence of objects in terms of time, space, size, and the like. In addition, unless otherwise specified, the terms "including/comprising", "having", and similar expressions herein are intended to mean a non-exclusive inclusion. Furthermore, the term "vehicle" or another similar term herein include general a motor vehicle, such as a passenger vehicle (including a sport utility vehicle, a bus, a trucks, etc.), and various commercial vehicles, and include a hybrid vehicle, an electric vehicle, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, and the like. The hybrid vehicle is a vehicle with two or more power sources, such as a vehicle powered by a gasoline engine and an electric motor.

Various exemplary embodiments according to the invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<FIG> is a schematic flowchart of a vehicle control method <NUM> according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in <FIG>, the vehicle control method <NUM> includes the following steps.

In step S110, a first control instruction is received. The first control instruction may be a stopping instruction, a starting instruction, and the like for a vehicle.

In step S120, a first output signal is sent based on the first control instruction received in step S110. The first output signal is used to instruct a hydraulic parking system to start pressure build-up.

In the context of the invention, the hydraulic parking system "starts pressure build-up" means that a hydraulic pressure of the hydraulic parking system starts to increase.

In step S130, a second output signal is sent upon the hydraulic parking system reaching a predetermined first state. The second output signal is used to instruct the electronic parking system to start to be pulled up or released.

In step S140 (shown in a dashed frame in <FIG>), a third output signal is sent upon the electronic parking system reaching a predetermined second state. The third output signal is used to instruct the hydraulic parking system to start to release pressure.

In the context of the invention, the hydraulic parking system "starts to release pressure" means that the hydraulic pressure of the hydraulic parking system starts to decrease.

An embodiment of a vehicle control method in which the first control instruction is the stopping instruction is specifically described below in combination with <FIG> and <FIG> shows states of a vehicle speed, a hydraulic parking system, and an electronic parking system in a stopping scenario in the embodiment illustrated in <FIG>.

In step S110, at time tA, a stopping instruction is received. The stopping instruction is sent by another controller (for example, another electronic control unit (ECU) or another domain control unit (DCU)) of the vehicle when the vehicle decelerates to a specific threshold. As shown in <FIG>, before time tA, the vehicle speed gradually decreases. Because neither the hydraulic parking system nor the electronic parking system is activated, a hydraulic pressure is zero, and the electronic parking system is also not pulled up.

However, the invention is not limited thereto, and the stopping instruction may alternatively be sent by another controller of the vehicle in another predetermined state. For example, when the vehicle is using an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) function, once an ADAS failure is detected, the vehicle sends the stopping instruction immediately. In addition, the stopping instruction may alternatively be sent by a user through a human-machine interface (HMI), or sent in another manner.

In step S120, still at time tA, a first output signal is sent to the hydraulic parking system based on the received stopping instruction, so that the hydraulic parking system starts pressure build-up. Then, the hydraulic parking system performs pressure build-up gradually, and at time tB, the pressure build-up is completed.

In step S130, at time tc, a second output signal is sent to the electronic parking system upon the hydraulic parking system reaching a predetermined first state, so that the electronic parking system starts to be pulled up.

In this embodiment, the first state of the hydraulic parking system may, for example, be that pressure build-up has been completed for a first time threshold. The first time threshold herein is a threshold predetermined for the hydraulic parking system, which may be any suitable time threshold such as <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM>. When the first time threshold is <NUM>, once pressure build-up of the hydraulic parking system is completed, the second output signal is sent to start pulling up of the electronic parking system. In the embodiment illustrated in <FIG>, after pressure build-up is completed at time tB, the electronic parking system does not start to be pulled up until time tc (that is, the second output signal is not sent until time tc). Thus, the first time threshold is tC-tB. In this way, the vehicle first gradually reduces a vehicle speed to zero through the hydraulic parking system, and then maintains a parked state through the electronic parking system. The hydraulic parking system can respond quickly and implements a specific slope of pressure build-up to provide users with a comfortable experience. In addition, maintaining stopping and parking in a manner of using the hydraulic parking system after using the electronic parking system may prevent a brake motor from overheating caused by a high hydraulic pressure for a long time.

In another embodiment, the first state of the hydraulic parking system may, for example, be that pressure build-up has not been completed after a second time threshold. The second time threshold is a time threshold predetermined for the hydraulic parking system, which may be any suitable time threshold such as <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM>. If the pressure build-up still fails to be completed when a pressure build-up duration exceeds the threshold, a failure may occur in the hydraulic parking system. In this case, the second output signal is sent to start pulling up of the electronic parking system, and stopping operation is completed under cooperation of the electronic parking system. Therefore, according to the vehicle control method in this embodiment, the electronic parking system can be started to perform stopping operation when the hydraulic parking system fails, implementing a failure backup of a system, and improving safety and reliability of the system.

It should be noted that, "the first state of the hydraulic parking system" is not limited to the above two states, but also includes any another suitable predetermined state associated with the hydraulic parking system.

In step S140, at time tD, a third output signal is sent upon the electronic parking system reaching a predetermined second state, so that the hydraulic parking system starts to release pressure.

In this embodiment, the second state of the electronic parking system may, for example, be that the electronic parking system has been fully pulled up for a third time threshold. The third time threshold herein is a threshold predetermined for the electronic parking system, which may be any suitable time threshold such as <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM>. In the embodiment shown in <FIG>, the third time threshold is <NUM>, that is, once the electronic parking system is fully pulled up at time tD, the third output signal is sent, so that the electronic parking system starts to release pressure. A manner of waiting for the electronic parking system to be fully pulled up and then releasing pressure of the hydraulic parking system can effectively avoid a problem of slippage that may be caused by direct release of pressure during pulling up of the electronic parking system.

It should be noted that, "the second state of the electronic parking system" is not limited to the state exemplified above, but includes any another suitable predetermined state associated with the electronic parking system.

An embodiment of a vehicle control method in which the first control instruction is the starting instruction is specifically described below in combination with <FIG> and <FIG> shows states of a vehicle speed, a hydraulic parking system, and an electronic parking system in a starting scenario in the embodiment illustrated in <FIG>.

In step S110, at time tE, a starting instruction is received. The received starting instruction may be received from an HMI, or another controller (for example, a controller for an ADAS function) of the vehicle. When the starting instruction is received, as shown in <FIG>, a vehicle speed is zero, a hydraulic pressure is zero, and the electronic parking system is in a fully pulled state.

In step S120, still at time tE, a first output signal is sent to the hydraulic parking system based on the received starting instruction, so that the hydraulic parking system starts pressure build-up. Then, the hydraulic parking system performs pressure build-up gradually, and at time tF, the pressure build-up is completed.

In step S130, at time tF, a second output signal is sent to the electronic parking system upon the hydraulic parking system reaching a predetermined first state, so that the electronic parking system starts to be released. In this embodiment, the first state of the hydraulic parking system is that the electronic parking system starts to be released once the hydraulic parking system completes pressure build-up. However, the invention is not limited thereto, and the first state of the hydraulic parking system may alternatively be that pressure build-up has been completed for a fourth time threshold. The fourth time threshold herein is a threshold predetermined for the hydraulic parking system, which may be any suitable time threshold such as <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM>. In the embodiment shown in <FIG>, the third time threshold is <NUM>, that is, once pressure build-up of the hydraulic parking system is completed, the second output signal is sent to start releasing of the electronic parking system. A manner of waiting for the hydraulic parking system to complete pressure build-up and then releasing the electronic parking system can effectively avoid a problem of slippage that may be caused by directly releasing of the electronic parking system during starting. It should be noted that, "the first state of the hydraulic parking system" is not limited to the above state, but also includes any another suitable predetermined state associated with the hydraulic parking system.

Furthermore, in addition to being upon the hydraulic parking system reaching the predetermined first state, sending of the second output signal used to instruct the electronic parking system to start to be released may further be upon a starting torque being greater than a torque required to overcome a slope. This is because, in some scenarios, a vehicle may be parked on a slope, and release of the electronic parking system in this case not only needs to consider whether pressure build-up is completed, but also the torque required to overcome the slope, so as to avoid the problem of slippage.

In step S140, at time tG, a third output signal is sent upon the electronic parking system reaching a predetermined second state, so that the hydraulic parking system starts to release pressure. In this embodiment, the second state of the electronic parking system may, for example, be that the electronic parking system has been fully released for a fifth time threshold. The fifth time threshold herein is a threshold predetermined for the electronic parking system, which may be any suitable time threshold such as <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM>. In the embodiment illustrated in <FIG>, the fifth time threshold is <NUM>, that is, once the electronic parking system is fully released at time tG, the third output signal is sent, so that the hydraulic parking system starts to release pressure, and at the same time the speed of the vehicle began to increase and the vehicle starts to move. Thus, during releasing of the electronic parking system, a hydraulic pressure is maintained to avoid the problem of slippage. After the electronic parking system is fully released, the hydraulic parking system starts to release pressure, and the vehicle starts to move.

<FIG> is a block diagram of a vehicle control device <NUM> according to an embodiment of the invention. The control device <NUM> includes a memory <NUM> and a processor <NUM>. Although not shown in <FIG>, the control device <NUM> further includes a computer program stored on the memory <NUM> and executable on the processor <NUM>, thereby implementing various steps in the vehicle control method in the foregoing embodiments.

The memory <NUM> may be a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) or an optical disk storage device, a magnetic disk storage device, or any another medium capable of carrying or storing desired program code in the form of machine-executable instructions or data structures and capable of being accessed by the processor <NUM>. The processor <NUM> may be any suitable dedicated or general-purpose processor such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a digital signal processor (DSP).

In an application scenario of a vehicle, the control device <NUM> may be a separate device used for control of a hydraulic parking system and an electronic parking system in a coupled manner, or may be combined in another processing device such as an ECU or a DCU.

<FIG> is a block diagram of a vehicle control device <NUM> according to an embodiment of the invention. The vehicle control device <NUM> includes a receiving apparatus <NUM> and a sending apparatus <NUM>.

Specifically, the receiving apparatus <NUM> is configured to receive a first control instruction. The first control instruction may be a stopping instruction, a starting instruction, and the like for a vehicle. Similar to that in the above embodiment, the stopping instruction may be sent by another controller (for example, another ECU or another DCU) of the vehicle, may be sent by a user through an HMI, or sent in another manner.

The sending apparatus <NUM> is configured to send a first output signal to a hydraulic parking system <NUM> based on the first control instruction received by the receiving apparatus <NUM>. The first output signal is used to instruct the hydraulic parking system <NUM> to start pressure build-up. Herein, the sending apparatus <NUM> may directly send the first output signal to the hydraulic parking system <NUM> as shown in <FIG>, or may indirectly send the first output signal to the hydraulic parking system <NUM> via a DCU or another ECU.

The sending apparatus <NUM> is further configured to send a second output signal to an electronic parking system <NUM> upon the hydraulic parking system <NUM> reaching a predetermined first state. The second output signal is used to instruct the electronic parking system <NUM> to start to be pulled up or released. Similar to the above description, the sending apparatus <NUM> may directly send the second output signal to the electronic parking system <NUM> as shown in <FIG>, or may indirectly send the second output signal to the electronic parking system <NUM> via a DCU or another ECU.

In some embodiments where the first control instruction received by the receiving apparatus <NUM> is the stopping instruction, the second output signal is used to instruct the electronic parking system <NUM> to start to be pulled up. The first state of the hydraulic parking system <NUM> is, for example, that pressure build-up has been completed for a first time threshold; pressure build-up has not been completed after a second time threshold; or the like. The first time threshold and the second time threshold are time thresholds separately predetermined for the hydraulic parking system <NUM>. The first time threshold may be any suitable time threshold, such as <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM>. When the first time threshold is <NUM>, once pressure build-up of the hydraulic parking system <NUM> is completed, the sending apparatus <NUM> sends the second output signal to start pulling up of the electronic parking system. The second time threshold may be any suitable time threshold, such as <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM>. If the pressure build-up has not been completed when a pressure build-up duration exceeds the second time threshold, a failure may occur in the hydraulic parking system <NUM>. In this case, the second output signal is sent to start pulling up of the electronic parking system <NUM>, and stopping operation is completed under cooperation of the electronic parking system <NUM>.

In some embodiments where the first control instruction received by the receiving apparatus <NUM> is the starting instruction, the second output signal is used to instruct the electronic parking system <NUM> to start to be released. The first state of the hydraulic parking system <NUM> includes that pressure build-up has been completed for a fourth time threshold. The fourth time threshold is a threshold predetermined for the hydraulic parking system <NUM>, which may be any suitable time threshold such as <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM>. When the third time threshold is <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>, once pressure build-up of the hydraulic parking system <NUM> is completed, the second output signal is sent to start releasing of the electronic parking system <NUM>.

Similar to the above description, "the first state of the hydraulic parking system" is not limited to the above state, but also includes any suitable predetermined state associated with the hydraulic parking system <NUM>.

The sending apparatus <NUM> is further configured to send a third output signal to the hydraulic parking system <NUM> upon the electronic parking system <NUM> reaching a predetermined second state. The third output signal is used to instruct the hydraulic parking system <NUM> to start to release pressure.

In some embodiments where the first control instruction received by the receiving apparatus <NUM> is the stopping instruction, the second state of the electronic parking system <NUM> may, for example, be that the electronic parking system <NUM> has been fully pulled up for a third time threshold. The third time threshold herein is a threshold predetermined for the electronic parking system <NUM>, which may be any suitable time threshold such as <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM>. For example, in the embodiment illustrated in <FIG>, the third time threshold is <NUM>, that is, once the electronic parking system <NUM> is fully pulled up at time tD, the third output signal is sent, so that the hydraulic parking system <NUM> starts to release pressure.

In some embodiments where the first control instruction received by the receiving apparatus <NUM> is the starting instruction, the second state of the electronic parking system <NUM> may, for example, be that the electronic parking system <NUM> has been fully released for a fifth time threshold. The fifth time threshold herein is a threshold predetermined for the electronic parking system <NUM>, which may be any suitable time threshold such as <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM>. In the embodiment illustrated in <FIG>, the fifth time threshold is <NUM>, that is, once the electronic parking system <NUM> is fully released at time tG, the third output signal is sent, so that the hydraulic parking system <NUM> starts to release pressure.

Similar to the above description, "the second state of the electronic parking system" is not limited to the state exemplified above, but includes any another suitable predetermined state associated with the electronic parking system <NUM>.

It should be understood that, some of the block diagrams shown in the accompanying drawings of the invention are functional entities and do not necessarily correspond to physically or logically independent entities. These functional entities may be implemented in the form of software, in one or more hardware modules or integrated circuits, or in different networks and/or processor apparatuses and/or micro-controller apparatuses.

In addition, those skilled in the art readily understand that the error detection method provided in the one or more embodiments of the invention can be implemented by using a computer program. For example, when a computer storage medium (for example, a USB flash drive) storing the computer program is connected to a computer, the vehicle control method in one or more embodiments of the invention can be performed by running the computer program.

Claim 1:
A vehicle control method (<NUM>), comprising:
receiving a first control instruction (S110);
sending a first output signal based on the first control instruction, wherein the first output signal is used to instruct a hydraulic parking system to start pressure build-up (S120);
sending a second output signal upon the hydraulic parking system reaching a predetermined first state, wherein the second output signal is used to instruct an electronic parking system to start to be pulled up or released (S130); said method being characterized by
sending a third output signal upon the electronic parking system reaching a predetermined second state (S140), wherein the third output signal is used to instruct the hydraulic parking system to start to release pressure.