Vehicle operation with interchangeable drive modules

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11685456-B2
Application number	US-202217882779-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 8, 2022
Priority date	May 31, 2017
Publication date	Jun 27, 2023
Grant date	Jun 27, 2023

Abstract

Vehicles may be composed of a relatively few number of “modules” that are assembled together during a final assembly process. An example vehicle may include a body module, a first drive module coupled to a first end of the body module, and a second drive module coupled to a second end of the body module. One or both of the drive modules may include a pair of wheels, a battery, an electric drive motor, and/or a heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system. One or both of the drive modules may also include a crash structure to absorb impacts. If a component of a drive module fails or is damaged, the drive module can be quickly and easily replaced with a new drive module, minimizing vehicle down time.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A drive module configured to be coupled to a body module of a vehicle, the drive module comprising:
one or more components for operating the vehicle;
one or more processors;
one or more communication connections; and
memory communicatively coupled to the one or more processors, the memory storing:
a diagnostic module, executable by the one or more processors, to identify a fault with the one or more components; and
instructions that, when executed, configure the drive module to perform operations comprising:
detecting connection of the drive module to the body module of the vehicle; and
transmitting, by the one or more communication connections:
an identifier of the drive module; and
a fault log including an indication of the faults identified by the diagnostic module.

2. The drive module of claim 1 , wherein the instructions configure the drive module to transmit the identifier of the drive module and the fault log to at least one of:
a vehicle controller of the body module;
a diagnostic computing device; or
a teleoperation computing device.

3. The drive module of claim 1 , wherein the one or more components comprise:
a propulsion system for propelling the vehicle;
a heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system for controlling air temperature with a passenger compartment of the vehicle; and
an energy storage system to power the propulsion system and the HVAC system.

4. The drive module of claim 1 , wherein the one or more components comprise at least one of:
a steering system;
a suspension system;
a braking system;
one or more lights;
a heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system;
a DC/DC converter;
a high voltage junction;
a high voltage cable;
a sensor;
an exterior light; or
a charging component.

5. The drive module of claim 1 , further comprising one or more sensors including at least one of:
an ultrasonic sensor;
a radar sensor;
a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) sensor;
a camera;
a microphone;
an inertial sensor; or
a global positioning satellite (GPS) sensor.

6. The drive module of claim 5 , wherein the diagnostic module is further executable by the one or more processors to identify a sensor reading associated with the one or more sensors, wherein the sensor reading indicates a characteristic of the drive module that contributes to the fault.

7. The drive module of claim 1 , further comprising a crash structure coupled to an end of the drive module opposite the body module and configured to collapse responsive to an impact force exceeding an impact threshold to absorb the impact force.

8. A method comprising:
detecting a connection of a drive module to a body of a vehicle; and
transmitting, by one or more communication connections:
an identifier of the drive module; and
a fault log including an indication of a fault with one or more components identified by a diagnostic module o the drive module,
wherein the drive module includes the one or more components configured for operating the vehicle, the one or more communication connections, and the diagnostic module.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising, transmitting the identifier of the drive module and the fault log to at least one of:
a vehicle controller of the body of the vehicle;
a diagnostic computing device; or
a teleoperation computing device.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the one or more components comprise:
a propulsion system for propelling the vehicle;
a heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system for controlling air temperature within a passenger compartment of the vehicle; and
an energy storage system to power the propulsion system and the HVAC system.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the one or more components comprise, at least one of:
a drive motor;
a battery;
an inverter;
a steering system;
a suspension system;
a braking system;
one or more lights;
a heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system;
a DC/DC converter;
a high voltage junction;
a high voltage cable;
a sensor;
an exterior light; or
a charging component.

12. The method of claim 8 , further comprising, identifying, by the diagnostic module, a sensor reading associated with a sensor of the drive module, the sensor reading indicating a characteristic of the drive module that contributes to the fault.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the sensor comprises at least one of:
an ultrasonic sensor;
a radar sensor;
a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) sensor;
a camera;
a microphone;
an inertial sensor; or
a global positioning satellite (GPS) sensor.

14. The method of claim 8 , wherein the fault log stores a snapshot of operating conditions of the drive module leading up to the fault.

15. One or more non-transitory computer readable media storing instructions, that when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
detecting connection of a drive module to a body module of a vehicle; and
transmitting, by one or more communication connection:
an identifier of the drive module; and
a fault log including an indication of a fault with one or more components identified by a diagnostic module,
wherein the drive module includes the one or more components configured for operating the vehicle, the one or more processors, the one or more communication connections, memory communicatively coupled to the one or more processors, and the diagnostic module configured to identify the fault.

16. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media of claim 15 , the operations further comprising transmitting the identifier of the drive module and the fault log to at least one of:
a vehicle controller of the body module;
a diagnostic computing device; or
a teleoperation computing device.

17. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media of claim 15 , wherein the one or more components comprise:
a propulsion system for propelling the vehicle;
a heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system for controlling air temperature within a passenger compartment of the vehicle; and
an energy storage system to power the propulsion system and the HVAC system.

18. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media of claim 15 , wherein the one or more components comprise at least one of:
a drive motor;
a battery;
an inverter;
a steering system;
a suspension system;
a braking system;
one or more lights;
a heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system;
a DC/DC converter;
a high voltage junction;
a high voltage cable;
a sensor;
an exterior light; or
a charging component.

19. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media of claim 15 , the drive module comprising one or more sensors including at least one of:
an ultrasonic sensor;
a radar sensor;
a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) sensor;
a camera;
a microphone;
an inertial sensor; or
a global positioning satellite (GPS) sensor.

20. The one or more non-transitory computer readable media of claim 19 , the operations further comprising identifying, by the diagnostic module, a sensor reading associated with the one or more sensors, the sensor reading indicating a characteristic of the drive module that contributes to the fault.

Assignees

• Zoox Inc

Inventors

• Birnschein Timo
• Piper Andrew
• Di Pietro Adriano
• Foley Kyle Matthew
• Kentley-Klay Timothy David

Classifications

• B62D65/12 Primary

  the sub-units or components being suspensions, brakes or wheel units · CPC title

• B62D63/025

  Modular vehicles (superstructures for busses having modular sections B62D31/025) · CPC title

• B60L50/50

  using propulsion power supplied by batteries or fuel cells · CPC title

• B60K17/34

  for driving both front and rear wheels, e.g. four wheel drive vehicles · CPC title

• B60K17/356

  having fluid or electric motor, for driving one or more wheels · CPC title