US-12623506-B2 - Device and method for controlling a vehicle that supports vehicle boarding and exiting of passengers with mobility difficulties

US12623506B2US 12623506 B2US12623506 B2US 12623506B2US-12623506-B2

Abstract

A device for controlling a vehicle includes: a sensor configured to obtain surroundings information of the vehicle and sensing a vehicle height; a location acquisition device configured to obtain a location of the vehicle; and a controller. The controller determines a location of a boarding gate of the vehicle based on a stopping location of the vehicle, determines information of a platform based on the boarding gate location, calculates a target vehicle height based on the platform information and boarding gate information, and controls a vehicle height of the vehicle based on the target vehicle height.

Inventors

Yim Ju Kang
Hoon Lee

Assignees

HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY
KIA CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20221121
Priority Date: 20220628

Claims (18)

1 . A device for controlling a vehicle, the device comprising: a sensor configured to obtain surroundings information of the vehicle; and a controller, wherein the controller is configured to determine a boarding gate location of a boarding gate of the vehicle based on a stopping location of the vehicle, determine platform information of a platform based on the boarding gate location, calculate a target vehicle height based on the platform information and boarding gate information, and control a vehicle height of the vehicle based on the target vehicle height, wherein the platform information includes a platform inclination of the platform, wherein the controller is further configured to calculate the platform inclination corresponding to a boarding gate width by matching the boarding gate width to the platform, wherein the platform inclination includes a first inclination in a direction parallel to a travel direction of the vehicle and a second inclination in a direction perpendicular to the travel direction of the vehicle, and wherein the controller is further configured to: calculate a required time required to control the vehicle height based on the target vehicle height and calculate a remaining time until the vehicle arrives at a stopping point; and control the vehicle to decelerate when the required time exceeds the remaining time until the vehicle arrives at the stopping point.
2 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to match the surroundings information with the boarding gate location to determine the platform information including a height of the platform.
3 . The device of claim 1 , further comprising: a location acquisition device configured to obtain a location of the vehicle and providing a map of a peripheral region of the location of the vehicle.
4 . The device of claim 3 , wherein the controller is configured to: match the map provided by the location acquisition device with the boarding gate location; and determine the platform information including at least one of a height of the platform or an inclination of the platform from the map matched with the boarding gate location.
5 . The device of claim 1 , further comprising: a communication device configured to perform vehicle to everything (V2X) communication.
6 . The device of claim 5 , wherein the controller is configured to determine the platform information including at least one of a platform height of the platform or an inclination of the platform corresponding to the boarding gate location based on information received via the V2X communication.
7 . The device of claim 2 , wherein the sensor includes a vehicle height sensor configured to detect the vehicle height of the vehicle.
8 . The device of claim 7 , wherein the controller is configured to determine the boarding gate information including at least one of a boarding gate height of the boarding gate or a boarding gate inclination of the boarding gate based on at least one of the surroundings information or the vehicle height.
9 . The device of claim 8 , wherein the controller is configured to calculate the target vehicle height based on a difference between a platform height and the boarding gate height.
10 . The device of claim 8 , wherein the controller is configured to calculate the target vehicle height based on the platform inclination and the boarding gate inclination.
11 . The device of claim 9 , wherein the controller is configured to calculate the target vehicle height such that the difference between the platform height and the boarding gate height is a preset first value.
12 . The device of claim 11 , wherein the preset first value is set such that corresponding to a length of step of a boarding passenger from the platform to the boarding gate.
13 . The device of claim 9 , further comprising: a boarding and exiting assist device connected or docked from the vehicle to the platform.
14 . The device of claim 13 , wherein the controller is configured to set the target vehicle height such that the difference between the platform height and the boarding gate height is a preset second value when connecting the boarding and exiting assist device to the platform.
15 . The device of claim 14 , wherein the preset second value is set such that a moving assist device moved using wheel is able to move from the platform to the boarding gate.
16 . The device of claim 14 , wherein the controller is configured to set the target vehicle height such that the platform height and the boarding gate height match with each other and the platform inclination and the boarding gate inclination match with each other when docking the boarding and exiting assist device to the platform.
17 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to: calculate a suspension control amount for controlling at least one of a suspension respectively disposed at a left front portion, a right front portion, a left rear portion, or a right rear portion of the vehicle to control the vehicle height based on the target vehicle height; and control the suspension with the suspension control amount.
18 . A method for controlling a vehicle, the method comprising: determining a boarding gate location of a boarding gate of the vehicle based on a stopping location of the vehicle; determining platform information of a platform based on the boarding gate location; calculating a target vehicle height based on the platform information and boarding gate information; and controlling a vehicle height of the vehicle based on the target vehicle height, wherein the platform information includes a platform inclination of the platform, wherein the method further comprises: calculating the platform inclination corresponding to a boarding gate width by matching the boarding gate width to the platform, wherein the platform inclination includes a first inclination in a direction parallel to a travel direction of the vehicle and a second inclination in a direction perpendicular to the travel direction of the vehicle, and wherein the method further comprises: calculating a required time required to control the vehicle height based on the target vehicle height and calculating a remaining time until the vehicle arrives at a stopping point; and controlling the vehicle to decelerate when the required time exceeds the remaining time until the vehicle arrives at the stopping point.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims the benefit of priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0079184, filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Jun. 28, 2022, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a device and a method for controlling a vehicle. BACKGROUND Boarding a vehicle when the height of the boarding gate is higher or lower than that of the platform is difficult for passengers with mobility difficulties (e.g., the weak and the elderly, the disabled, children, pregnant women, and the like). Accordingly, a technology that allows the passengers to move to the boarding gate using a boarding and exiting assist device has been developed. However, because the height of the boarding gate of the vehicle continues to change based on a changing environment of the vehicle, there is a limitation in that passengers have difficulty easily moving from the platform to the boarding gate even when using the boarding and exiting assist device. SUMMARY Therefore, in view of the foregoing, there is a demand for development of a technology capable of supporting safe boarding and exiting of passengers. The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art while advantages achieved by the prior art are maintained. An aspect of the present disclosure provides a device and a method for controlling a vehicle that supports vehicle boarding and exiting of passengers with mobility difficulties. The technical problems to be solved by the present disclosure are not limited to the aforementioned problems. Any other technical problems not mentioned herein should be clearly understood from the following description by those with ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains. According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a device for controlling a vehicle includes a sensor configured to obtain surroundings information of the vehicle and a controller. The controller determines a location of a boarding gate of the vehicle based on a stopping location of the vehicle and determines information of a platform based on the boarding gate location. The controller also calculates a target vehicle height based on the platform information and boarding gate information and controls a vehicle height of the vehicle based on the target vehicle height. In one implementation, the controller may match the surroundings information with the boarding gate location to determine the platform information including at least one of a height of the platform or an inclination of the platform. In one implementation, the device may further include a location acquisition device configured to obtain a location of the vehicle and providing a map of a peripheral region of the location of the vehicle. In one implementation, the controller may match the map provided by the location acquisition device with the boarding gate location and determine the platform information including at least one of a height of the platform or an inclination of the platform from the map matched with the boarding gate location. In one implementation, the device may further include a communication device configured to perform vehicle to everything (V2X) communication. In one implementation, the controller may determine the platform information including at least one of a height of the platform or an inclination of the platform corresponding to the boarding gate location based on information received via the V2X communication. In one implementation, the sensor may include a vehicle height sensor configured to detect the vehicle height. In one implementation, the controller may determine the boarding gate information including at least one of a height of the boarding gate or an inclination of the boarding gate based on at least one of the surroundings information or the vehicle height. In one implementation, the controller may calculate the target vehicle height based on a difference between the platform height and the boarding gate height. In one implementation, the controller may calculate the target vehicle height based on the platform inclination and the boarding gate inclination. In one implementation, the platform inclination may include a first inclination in a direction parallel to a travel direction of the vehicle and a second inclination in a direction perpendicular to the travel direction of the vehicle. In one implementation, the controller may calculate the target vehicle height such that the difference between the platform height and the boarding gate height is a preset first value. In one implementation, the first value may be set such that corresponding to a length of step of a boarding passenger from the platform to the boarding gate. In one implementation, the device may further include a boarding and exiting assist device connected or docked from the vehicle to the platform. In one impl