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EP-4739531-A1 - AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE FOR ROAD AND RAIL, METHOD OF OPERATION THEREOF, RAILCAR, SYSTEM COMPRISING THE AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE AND RAILCAR

EP4739531A1EP 4739531 A1EP4739531 A1EP 4739531A1EP-4739531-A1

Abstract

An autonomous road vehicle (210) is transported by a railcar (280) for automated railed travel on a railway (298). During automated railed travel, the railcar (280) is powered by the main power source (212) of the autonomous road vehicle (210) and is driven by the driving automation control system (151) of the autonomous road vehicle (210). A driver control (254) of the autonomous road vehicle (210) enables a human driver to apply emergency braking during both road and railed travel.

Inventors

  • TEICHER, MORDECHAI

Assignees

  • Teicher, Mordechai

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20240607

Claims (20)

  1. 1. An autonomous road vehicle (210) operable for both automated road travel and automated railed travel, during automated railed travel the autonomous road vehicle (210) is mounted on and transported by a railcar (280) on a railway (298), the autonomous road vehicle (210) comprising: a vehicle motor (220); a main power source (212) operable to: during automated road travel, electrically power the vehicle motor (220), and during automated railed travel, electrically power a railcar motor (286) of the railcar (280); a vehicle power delivery connection (230) operable to, during automated railed travel, deliver electric power from the autonomous road vehicle (210) to the railcar (280) to electrically power the railcar motor (286); and a driving automation control system (151) operable to: during automated road travel, autonomously control at least braking of the autonomous road vehicle (210), and during automated railed travel, autonomously control at least braking of the railcar (280).
  2. 2. The autonomous road vehicle (210) of claim 1, further comprising a vehicle inverter (216), and wherein, during automated railed travel: the electric power delivered from the autonomous road vehicle (210) to the railcar (280) via said vehicle power delivery connection (230) is AC power of variable frequency supplied from the vehicle inverter (216) to a railcar AC motor (286, 286C) of the railcar (280); and acceleration of the railcar (280) is controlled by said driving automation control system (151) varying the variable frequency of said AC power.
  3. 3. The autonomous road vehicle (210) of claim 2, wherein: the main power source (212) is a rechargeable battery pack; and the vehicle inverter (216) is further operable to intermittently charge the rechargeable battery pack upon regenerative braking of the railcar (280).
  4. 4. The autonomous road vehicle (210) of claim 1, further comprising a driver control (254) that enables a human driver: during automated road travel, to override the driving automation control system (151) and manually apply emergency vehicle braking; and during automated railed travel, to override the driving automation control system (151) and manually apply emergency railcar braking.
  5. 5. The autonomous road vehicle (210) of claim 1, wherein the driving automation control system (151) is operable, toward automated railed travel, to verify that a sufficient amount of electric power is allocated for powering the railcar (280) up to reaching a destination, as a precondition for said railcar (280) transporting the autonomous road vehicle (210).
  6. 6. The autonomous road vehicle (210) of claim 1, wherein the driving automation control system (151) is further operable to control operation of a track switching control unit (289) of the railcar (280).
  7. 7. A system for automated road travel and automated railed travel of autonomous road vehicles (210), the system comprising: an autonomous road vehicle (210) according to any one of claims 1-6; and a railcar (280) operable to transport the autonomous road vehicle (210) on a railway (298), the railcar (280) comprising: a deck (284) operable to support the autonomous road vehicle (210) while mounted on the railcar (280) for automated railed travel, a railcar motor (286), a railcar power delivery connection (242) operable to deliver electric power from the autonomous road vehicle (210) mounted on the railcar (280) to power the railcar motor (286), and railcar friction brakes (288).
  8. 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the railcar (280) is further comprising a track switching control unit (289).
  9. 9. The system of claim 7 or 8, wherein the railcar (280, 806E) is further transporting and powering a passenger cabin (807) that is separate from the autonomous road vehicle (210, 804).
  10. 10. A method for operating an autonomous road vehicle (210) for automated travel of at least one road segment and at least one rail segment, the method comprising: for automated travel of a road segment: electrically powering a vehicle motor (220) of the autonomous road vehicle (210), and autonomously controlling, by a driving automation control system (151) of the autonomous road vehicle (210), at least braking of the autonomous road vehicle (210); and for automated travel of a rail segment: mounting the autonomous road vehicle (210) on a railcar (280), delivering electric power from the autonomous road vehicle (210) to the railcar (280) to power a railcar motor (286) of the railcar (280), and autonomously controlling, by the driving automation control system (151) of the autonomous road vehicle (210), at least braking of the railcar (280).
  11. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the autonomous road vehicle (210) comprises a driver control (254), the method further comprising: during automated road travel, monitoring the driver control (254) for conditionally overriding the driving automation control system (151) and applying manual emergency vehicle braking; and during automated railed travel, monitoring the driver control (254) for conditionally overriding the driving automation control system (151) and applying manual emergency railcar braking.
  12. 12. The method of claim 10 or 11, further comprising, toward traveling an automated rail segment: verifying in advance that a sufficient amount of electric power is allocated for powering the railcar (280) through the automated rail segment, as a precondition for traveling said automated rail segment.
  13. 13. A railcar (280) transporting an autonomous road vehicle (210) on a railway (298), the railcar (280) comprising: a deck (284) supporting the autonomous road vehicle (210); a railcar motor (286); a railcar power delivery connection (242) delivering electric power from the autonomous road vehicle (210) to power the railcar motor (286); and railcar friction brakes (288) and a track switching control unit (289) that are controlled by a driving automation control system (151) of the autonomous road vehicle (210).
  14. 14. The railcar (280) of claim 13, wherein the railcar friction brakes (288) are controlled also by a driver control (254) included in the autonomous road vehicle (210).
  15. 15. The railcar (280) of claim 13, wherein: the railcar motor is a railcar AC motor (286, 286C); and the railcar power delivery connection (242) is delivering AC power of variable frequency from a vehicle inverter (216) of the autonomous road vehicle (210) to power the railcar AC motor (286, 286C).
  16. 16. The railcar (280) of claim 15, wherein the railcar power delivery connection (242) is intermittently delivering electric power from the railcar AC motor (286, 286C) to the autonomous road vehicle (210) upon regenerative braking.
  17. 17. The railcar (280, 700) of claim 13, further comprising a railcar battery pack (780), and wherein: the railcar motor is a railcar AC motor (286, 286C); and the railcar battery pack (780) is intermittently charged by the railcar AC motor (286, 286C) upon regenerative braking of the railcar (280, 700).
  18. 18. The railcar (280, 806E) of claim 13 further transporting and powering a passenger cabin (807) that is separate from the autonomous road vehicle (210, 804).
  19. 19. A system for automated road travel and automated railed travel of autonomous road vehicles (210), the system comprising: a railcar (280) operable to transport an autonomous road vehicle (210) on a railway (298), the railcar (280) comprising: a deck (284) operable to support an autonomous road vehicle (210) while mounted on the railcar (280) for automated railed travel, a railcar motor (286), a railcar power delivery connection (242) operable to deliver electric power from an autonomous road vehicle (210) mounted on the railcar (280) to power the railcar motor (286), and railcar friction brakes (288); and an autonomous road vehicle (210) comprising: a vehicle motor (220), a main power source (212) operable to: during automated road travel, electrically power the vehicle motor (220), and during automated railed travel, electrically power the railcar motor (286), a vehicle power delivery connection (230) operable to, during automated railed travel, deliver electric power from the autonomous road vehicle (210) to the railcar (280) to electrically power the railcar motor (286), and a driving automation control system (151) operable to: during automated road travel, autonomously control at least braking of the autonomous road vehicle (210), and during automated railed travel, autonomously control at least braking of the railcar (280).
  20. 20. The system of claim 19, wherein: the autonomous road vehicle (210) further comprises a vehicle inverter (216) that supplies AC power of variable frequency; the electric power delivered from the autonomous road vehicle (210) to the railcar (280) via the vehicle power delivery connection (230) is the AC power of variable frequency; the railcar motor (286) is a railcar AC motor (286, 286C) powered by the AC power of variable frequency; and during automated railed travel, the driving automation control system (151) controls acceleration of the railcar (280) by varying the variable frequency of said AC power.

Description

Title of Invention: AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE FOR ROAD AND RAIL, METHOD OF OPERATION THEREOF, RAILCAR, SYSTEM COMPRISING THE AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE AND RAILCAR TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present disclosure relates to autonomous road vehicles, and in particular to autonomous electric road vehicles. [0002] The technical problem addressed by the present invention is the complexity of driverless vehicles, which delays, increases the cost and limits the scope of their deployment. BACKGROUND ART [0003] Electric road vehicles, such as electric passenger cars or electric trucks, use a battery pack or fuel cell to power an electric motor that propels the vehicle. [0004] In autonomous road vehicles, sensors and electronic control units are harnessed to assist or replace a human driver in driving the vehicle. [0005] Driving automation is commonly classified at levels 0-5 according to the widely accepted SAE J3016 classification by SAE International (Society of Automotive Engineers) - https://www.sae.org/standards/content/j3016_202104/, wherein level 0 is no driving automation while level 5 is full driving automation that enables driverless travel. [0006] Railed travel, where vehicles move on rails, highly reduces the complexity and safety risks of travel. [0007] The present disclosure comes to combine the advantages of autonomous road travel and railed travel in a novel and useful manner. [0008] Reference is made to Fig. 1A that schematically describes an autonomous road vehicle 100A of the background art. Battery pack 114 is loaded with electricity from the grid 104 via AC (alternating current) charging connection 108 and AC-DC converter 110 that supplies DC (direct current) charging current 112 to battery pack 114. Battery pack 114 provides hi-voltage DC power 118 to DC-DC converter 120 that supplies low voltage DC battery charging current 122 to 12/24V battery 124, which supplies low voltage power 128 to DC loads 130 such as lighting, climate control, multimedia systems, electronics, processors, and the like. Battery pack 114 also supplies hi-voltage DC current 134 to vehicle inverter 138, which supplies AC power of variable frequency 140 to autonomous road vehicle motor 144, the frequency determined by inverter control unit 136. Autonomous road vehicle motor 144 is an AC motor (or multiple AC motors) that revolves at an angular frequency, customarily measured in RPM (revolutions per minute) units, determined by the instant AC frequency provided by vehicle inverter 138, to drive, via transmission 146, the wheels of autonomous road vehicle 100A. [0009] Fig. IB schematically describes another version of autonomous road vehicle 100B of the background art, with battery pack 114 of Fig. 1A replaced by fuel cell 116, rendering AC-DC converter 110 and grid 104 of Fig. 1A redundant. All other numbered elements of Fig. IB are the same as their corresponding elements in Fig. 1A. [0010] Fig. 1C schematically describes an example driving automation control system 150 of autonomous road vehicles of the background art. Vehicle sensors 160, include at least any or some or all of camera(s) 160C, radar(s) 160R, lidar(s) 160L, sonar(s) 160S, GPS 160G and/or IMU(s) 160A (IMU is inertial measurement unit such as accelerometers and gyroscopes). The vehicle sensors 160 continuously monitor the vehicle and driving environment, which are transformed by perception unit 162 and motion planning unit 164 - both electronic control units known in the art of autonomous road vehicles - into driving control signals 149 that selectably actuate acceleration control 170A, braking control 170B and/or steering control 170S of vehicle driving control 170 (all being electronic control units) to assist or replace a human driver. SUMMARY OF INVENTION DEFINITIONS [0011] “Vehicle” herein is a wheeled motorized transportation instrument. “Electric vehicle” is propelled by an electric motor. “Motor” is one or more electric motors propelling a vehicle. “Road vehicle” travels on paved, gravel and dirt roads, while “motorized railcar”, abbreviated “railcar”, travels on rails. “Railway” is a track made of rails. [0012] “Driving automation control system” herein combines one or more sensors and one or more electronic control units to assist or replace a human driver in planning and controlling at least one of braking, accelerating, or steering of a vehicle. In case of a railcar, steering control is replaced herein by track switching control. [0013] “Autonomous road vehicle” herein is a vehicle that harnesses a driving automation control system to assist or replace a human driver in driving the vehicle. A vehicle that features just automated emergency braking or adaptive cruise control is considered herein autonomous vehicle. On the extreme end there is a “driverless vehicle” (aka/ “self-driving vehicle”) that is devised and authorized to travel with no human supervision or even without human presence. [0014] “Automated traveling” or “automated driving” herein pertain to t