Method for controlling a utility vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11940807-B2
Application number	US-202017431177-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 14, 2020
Priority date	Feb 19, 2019
Publication date	Mar 26, 2024
Grant date	Mar 26, 2024

Abstract

A method for controlling a utility vehicle includes detecting, via a sensor, an elevation profile of a region located in front of the utility vehicle in the direction of travel. The method also includes initializing a grid comprising a plurality of grid cells. The grid extends at least in a longitudinal direction and in a vertical direction of the region. The method further includes assigning the detected elevation profile to associated grid cells by writing elevation profile data into grid cells and controlling the vehicle based on the elevation profile data.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for controlling a utility vehicle, the method comprising:
detecting, via a sensor, an elevation profile of a region located in front of the utility vehicle in the direction of travel;
initializing a grid comprising a plurality of grid cells, wherein the grid extends at least in a longitudinal direction and in a vertical direction of the region;
assigning the detected elevation profile to associated grid cells by writing elevation profile data into grid cells; and
controlling the vehicle based on the elevation profile data.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the elevation profile data are formed as binary numbers.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the elevation profile of the region is detected at a time point T during travel of the vehicle and assigned to associated grid cells of the grid, and the elevation profile of the region is detected at a time point T+1 during the travel of the vehicle and assigned to associated grid cells of the grid.

4. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the value of a grid cell is a measure of a reliability of the detected elevation profile in a vicinity of the grid cell.

5. The method for controlling a utility vehicle according to claim 3 , further comprising deleting grid cells located behind the vehicle.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the elevation profile data at time point T+1 are written into grid cells by adding the elevation profile data at time point T+1 to the elevation profile data at time point T.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the grid maps precisely two dimensions and the sensor detects two-dimensional data.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein a number of time points at which elevation profile data are taken into account is dependent on a speed of the vehicle.

9. The method according to claim 8 , wherein a changed predetermined number of past detections of the elevation profile is taken into account relative to a speed and/or a control angle of the vehicle below a predetermined threshold value if the speed and/or the control angle of the vehicle exceeds the predetermined threshold value.

10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the elevation profile of the region is determined via a regression analysis of sensor data of the sensor.

11. The method according to claim 1 , wherein a difference between a first and a second column of the grid of a number of grid cells comprising a value corresponding to a detection of terrain is a measure of a slope of an elevation profile between the first and the second column of the grid.

12. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the controlling the vehicle based on the elevation profile data includes changing or preventing a change in a rotational speed of an engine of the vehicle in order for the vehicle to travel over the detected elevation profile.

13. The method according to claim 1 , wherein a number of time points at which elevation profile data are taken into account is dependent on a control angle of the vehicle.

14. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the number of time points at which elevation profile data are taken into account is also dependent on a control angle of the vehicle.

15. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising predicting a time at which the vehicle will encounter an elevation change based on the elevation profile data,
wherein controlling the vehicle based on the elevation profile data includes changing a gear of a transmission of the vehicle before the time at which the vehicle will encounter the elevation change.

16. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising predicting a time at which the vehicle will encounter an elevation change based on the elevation profile data,
wherein controlling the vehicle based on the elevation profile data includes setting a rotational speed or a rotational speed range for a transmission of the vehicle based on the predicted time at which the vehicle will encounter the elevation change.

17. The method according to claim 3 , further comprising assigning a reliability value to each grid cell, the reliability value of each grid cell being based on a number of times elevation profile data has been written into a respective grid cell.

18. A driver assistance system for a utility vehicle, comprising:
a sensor configured to detect an elevation profile,
processing circuitry configured to carry out a method according to claim 1 , and
an interface configured to connect to a transmission of the utility vehicle.

19. The driver assistance system according to claim 18 , wherein the sensor is a radar sensor and/or a lidar sensor.

Assignees

• Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen

Inventors

• Birk Markus

Classifications

• G05D1/0274 Primary

  using mapping information stored in a memory device (navigation using map-matching G01C21/30) · CPC title

• G05D1/0223

  involving speed control of the vehicle (vehicle fittings for automatically controlling, i.e. preventing speed from exceeding an arbitrarily established velocity or maintaining speed at a particular velocity, as selected by the vehicle operator B60K31/00) · CPC title

• G05D1/024

  in combination with a laser (lasers per se H01S) · CPC title

• G05D1/0257

  using a radar (radar systems designed for anti-collision purposes between land vehicles or between land vehicle and fixed obstacles G01S13/931) · CPC title

• G05D1/246 Primary

  using environment maps, e.g. simultaneous localisation and mapping [SLAM] · CPC title